Laura M. de Seroux (born February 9, 1952, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) is a retired trainer of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorses. In 2002 she became the second female to win a

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

race and the only female to train an

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

Early career

Born Laura M. Lubisich, in 1986 she married Emmanuel de Seroux, a bloodstock agent she met while on business in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She learned race conditioning of Thoroughbreds from

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trainer

Charlie Whittingham Charles Edward Whittingham (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1999) was an American Thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history. Early career Born in Chula Vista, California, Whittingham began wor ...

for whom she exercised horses for sixteen years. She then began managing parts of the racing operations for owners

Nelson Bunker Hunt Nelson Bunker Hunt (February 22, 1926 – October 21, 2014) was an American oil company executive. He was a billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brothers William Herbert and Lamar tried to corner the world market in silve ...

and

Bruce McNall Bruce Patrick McNall (born April 17, 1950) is an American former sports executive, and convicted felon who once owned the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). McNa ...

in both

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. On Laura de Seroux's advice, in September 1987 McNall purchased a half interest in

Trempolino Trempolino (March 17, 1984 –March 19, 2018) was a French Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse best known for winning the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1987. Background He was bred by Marystead Farm, the American arm of French h ...

. Five days later Trempolino won the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

, smashing the race record time for Europe's most prestigious race by 1.4 seconds. Laura de Seroux also was instrumental in McNall's purchase of Saumarez who gave him his second "Arc" win in 1990.

Training career

Laura de Seroux took out a trainer's license in 1999 using San Luis Rey Downs in

Bonsall, California Bonsall is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 4,546 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 3,982 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The Bonsall area was heavily affecte ...

, as a base. Her big break came in August 2001 when she was given eight horses to condition for the estate of

Allen Paulson Allen Eugene Paulson (April 22, 1922 – July 19, 2000) was an American businessman. Business career in aviation Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E. Paulson was on his own at age 13, supporting himself selling newspapers and doing janitorial wo ...

who had been one of racing's most successful owners and astute breeders. Among the eight horses was the very good

racemare The following is a glossary of North American horse racing. Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...

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, who in 2002 would win two Grade 1 races and a Grade 2 under the race conditioning of Laura de Seroux. However, the star of the stable was

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who won eight of her nine starts in 2002, capping it off with a 5-length win in the

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United Stat ...

. The de Seroux stable's earnings in 2002 of $3,894,906 broke the record for most earnings by a female trainer set by Jenine Sahadi in 1996. The Irish three-year-old horse Ballingarry from the

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is the headquarters of one of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champio ...

was purchased by Sidney L. Port in October 2002. He was turned over to Laura de Seroux to handle the colt's training in the United States. Ballingarry won back-to-back editions of the

Stars and Stripes Turf Handicap The Stars and Stripes Stakes was a Grade III horse race in the United States for Thoroughbreds aged three years and up. It was last raced over a distance of 12 furlongs (1½ miles) on the turf at Arlington Park near Chicago as a lead up race to th ...

in 2003 and 2004. In 2004 Laura de Seroux entered her first starter in the prestigious

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $200,000 ...

and won it when

jockey Mike Smith rode Total Impact, owned by a Saudi royal, Sultan bin Mohammed, to victory. After a short but brilliant training career Laura de Seroux retired at the end of March, 2007.June 10, 2010 ''Daily Racing Form'' story on Laura de Seroux's retirement
Retrieved July 29, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Seroux, Laura 1952 births Living people American female horse trainers People from Los Angeles 21st-century American women 20th-century American sportswomen