Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

owner. As a partner in

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 ...

, he is one of only four racehorse owners to have won both the

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

and the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. Tabor has extensive business interests outside of horse racing, spanning hotels, property and entertainment. Tabor regularly appears on the ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and has been published as a magazine supplement by British national ...

'' of the richest people in Britain. According to the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' in 2019 his net worth was estimated at £629 million.

Early life

Michael Tabor was brought up in

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

in east London, the son of a glassmaker.Muscat, Julian
"Life's a gamble"
Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder, 2 July 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012. Tabor's grandparents were

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrants, originally called Taborosky, who had moved to London from

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, then under the control of the Russian Empire, now the capital of Lithuania.Cunningham, Peter. "The Cockney horse trader",

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

, 23 March 1997
Link to article on InfoTrac National Newspapers Database (login required).
Retrieved 14 October 2012.Reilly, Jerome

The Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

, 17 June 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2012. He was educated at East Ham Grammar School, leaving when he was 15 to get a job in the local

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

. He was nearly a hairdresser, enrolling at the Morris School of Hairdressing in Piccadilly, but instead turned to bookmaking. Tabor's father had for a time been in partnership with a bookmaker at Romford Greyhound Stadium and Tabor himself became interested in gambling in his teens, spending Monday and Friday afternoons at Hendon's

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

stadium in north London and regularly attending the track at White City.Edmondson, Richard
"Tabor harvests rich dividends of relentless journey"

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, 26 October 2000. Retrieved 1 October 2012.

Horseracing

Tabor's first horse was Tornado Prince, bought for £2,850 in 1973 who went on to win seven races, including a novices’ hurdle at Ascot in 1974. He bought several more, including Royal Derbi, trained, as was Tornado Prince, by Neville Callaghan in Newmarket."Owners: Michael Tabor"
,

British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain. It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulatory Au ...

. Retrieved 1 October 2012. Royal Derbi won the Irish Champion Hurdle in 1993. In 1994 Tabor paid more than $400,000 for the promising two-year-old thoroughbred

Thunder Gulch Thunder Gulch (May 23, 1992 – March 19, 2018) was a Eclipse Award, Champion United States, American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995, which earned him the title of Eclipse Awar ...

. The horse went on to win the

, the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

and the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

, narrowly missing the American Triple Crown when he was beaten by less than a length in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

. Tabor had been looking for a horse to race in America and had been pointed for advice to

John Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948) is an Irish business magnate. He is a leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier was a senator in the upper house of the Oireachtas, ...

by a mutual friend, J.P. McManus. Demi O'Byrne, the bloodstock adviser to Magnier, advised Tabor on his purchase and Magnier bought half of Thunder Gulch to stand at stud at Coolmore's Kentucky annexe at Ashford. His great successes as an owner, however, came in association with the expert Irish horsemen connected to the

. His investment allowed Magnier to become once again a major buyer in the top yearling sales, a role he had not played since the mid-1980s when he had acted in conjunction with

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004) Towards the end of his life he spent much of his time in Barbados and Australia. Death Sangster died of pancreatic cancer in London, on 7 April 2004, aged 67. British Classic Race wins * 1, ...

and other associates. In 1995 they bought three of the top four yearlings at the

Keeneland Sales Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres (0.59 km2) of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene. A division o ...

and paid 600,000 guineas for the leading lot at Tattersalls' Houghton Sale. That colt,

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, went on to win the

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

at Newmarket."Coolmore: the growth of an empire"
the-racehorse.com, 26 April 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2012. Tabor became the owner and co-owner of an extraordinary catalogue of some of the world's best racehorses, generally owning the Coolmore horses in a three-way partnership with Magnier and his wife Sue, and later with Derrick Smith, who became involved in the mid-2000s. His

Desert King Desert King (31 March 1994 – 11 August 2021) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. Desert King won the Irish Derby Stakes and Irish 2,000 Guineas and was the sire of 13 stakes winners with 34 stakes wins including Makybe Diva (GB). He was a bay son ...

won the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it ...

and the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

in 1997, while

took the

at Newmarket that same year to give Tabor his first victory in an English Classic.

Montjeu Montjeu (4 April 1996 – 29 March 2012) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from September 1998 to November 2000, he ran sixteen times and won eleven races, including ...

won the Irish Derby and 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 ...

in 1999, while Tabor won The Derby in 2001 and 2002 with

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

and then

High Chaparral High Chaparral (1 March 1999 – 21 December 2014) was an Irish Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a career that lasted from September 2001 to October 2003, he ran 13 times and won 10 races. His w ...

, the latter horse also winning the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

and the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

. Tabor won the Derby again, with Pour Moi in 2011 and with

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

in 2012, the year that horse also took the 2,000 Guineas and the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...

, though he missed out on the English Triple Crown by finishing second in the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

. Tabor won the Derby again in 2024 with City of Troy. Tabor was also the breeder, as well as the owner, of

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway () is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcano, volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. ...

, winner of numerous

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

races, and in 1995 his

Hurricane Run Hurricane Run (2002–2016) was a champion Irish-bred thoroughbred racehorse. He was the second French-trained horse, after his sire Montjeu, to win both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. The colt w ...

was voted the world's top-ranked racehorse by the

International Federation of Horseracing Authorities The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf R ...

. His Derby victories made Michael Tabor one of only four men ever to have raced a winner of both the Epsom and the Kentucky Derbys; the others are

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 2, 1999) was an American philanthropist and a horse breeding, breeder of thoroughbred horse racing, racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Muse ...

, John W. Galbreath and Prince Ahmed bin Salman. Tabor made an impact in America in May 1995 when Thunder Gulch won the

and with Magnier and Smith they subsequently campaigned Breeders' Cup winners Mendelssohn (2017), Highland Reel (2016), Found (2015 Turf), Hootenanny (2014 Juvenile Turf), George Vancouver (2012 Juvenile Turf), St. Nicholas Abbey (2011 Turf), Wrote (2011 Juvenile Turf) and Man of Iron (2009 Marathon), as well as such American Grade 1 winners as Adieu, Treasure Beach, Together, Turbulent Descent, Havana, Minorette and Curvy. They have also owned several other

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 ...

winners and Grade 1 winners in partnerships. Tabor was the co-owner of

. In June 2020, Galileo sired his 85th Group 1 winner, breaking Danehill's world record and becoming the most successful source of Group 1 winners in thoroughbred history. In addition to his Derby winners, his notable offspring include Frankel, Nathaniel, Found, Churchill and Minding. Tabor acknowledged the superiority of his Irish associates in their judgment of horses, telling ''

'': "I enjoy going round looking at the horses and I like to think I've got a fair idea. But I don't know a lot really and a little knowledge is dangerous." Discussing the economics of Coolmore's extremely successful breeding operation, Tabor said: "I get enormous pleasure out of the horses but, it goes without saying, that you're trying to make stallions. You need a stallion, maybe a stallion and a half, every year."

Betting

Tabor gained a reputation as a shrewd, daring and successful gambler, whose actions could dramatically affect the odds being offered on a horse.Reid, Jamie. "Tabor stakes claim to a football fortune: A former bookie wants to put £30 million into West Ham.",

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, 31 January 1997
Link to article on InfoTrac National Newspapers Database (login required).
Retrieved 14 October 2012.Nevin, Charles. "The bookie's runners",

, 29 May 1997
Link to article on InfoTrac National Newspapers Database (login required).
Retrieved 14 October 2012. Speculation in the press linked him to bets of tens of thousands of pounds. His later horseracing associate, Derrick Smith, told The Racing Post that when he was working with

Ladbrokes Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The Ladbrokes portion of the group was established in 1886, and Coral in 1926. In November 2016, th ...

in the 1980s they had to stop taking Tabor's bets.Muscat, Julian. "'To have a horse who is being mentioned in the same context as Nijinsky- it's unbelievable'", The Racing Post, 14 September 2012
Link to article on TheFreeLibrary.com.
Retrieved 14 October 2012.

Bookmaking business

Tabor worked for commission agents and credit bookmakers before setting up in business for himself in 1968. He borrowed £30,000 from a financier to buy two bankrupt betting shops from Andrew Gordon, retaining the name Arthur Prince and expanding the business until he owned a chain of 114 shops. In 1995 he sold the business to

Coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

for a reported £27 million."Owner Profile: Michael Tabor"
Racehorseowner.com. Retrieved 1 October 2012. "There's an old saying I like," Tabor said, "which is that good punters make good bookmakers. I have found that to be very true."

Other business interests

In May 2014 Tabor assumed 100% control of Victor Chandler International after Victor Chandler sold his interest in the firm. His racing associations have also extended into other areas of business. With Magnier, Derrick Smith and J.P. McManus, Tabor is one of the co-owners of the luxury Sandy Lane hotel in Barbados.Finch, Julia
"Revealed: the other two billionaires with a stake in Mitchells & Butlers"

, 13 December 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2012.Finch, Julia
"Mitchells & Butlers: the giant pub company with no one to call 'time'"

, 18 September 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2012.Foster, Mike
"Rich List 2011: The financiers"

Financial News ''Financial News'' is a weekly financial newspaper published in London and news website, founded in 1996. It is published by eFinancial News Limited, and provides news and opinions regarding the financial services sector, and information ab ...

, 9 May 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2012. In addition, Tabor, Magnier, McManus, and another Irish associate and Sandy Lane owner,

Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond (born 14 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €2.04 billion and is ranked by the '' Sunday Independent'' as the ninth-richest person in Ireland. Early life and education Desmond was ...

, collectively owned 60 per cent of the Next Generation chain of fitness clubs sold to

London & Regional Properties London & Regional Properties Limited (L&R) is a private real estate and leisure investment firm based in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest privately held principal investors in Europe, performing private equity style investments ...

for around £200 million in 2006. Tabor, Magnier, Smith, and McManus also own a large stake in the

Mitchells & Butlers Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...

pub chain. This group of businessmen is also reported to have profited extensively from currency speculation. In 2008 the company

Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...

, founded by Tabor's son, Ashley, took over GCap Media, owners of

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

and Classic FM. The move was backed with £375 million from Tabor. The deal made Global Radio the largest radio group in the United Kingdom. Tabor's other business dealings include an investment in two London hotels and a failed attempt in 1996 to buy

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

football club, whom he has supported since he was a boy."Tabor's warning for West Ham"

, 31 January 1997. Retrieved 1 October 2012.

Personal life

Tabor divides his time between

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

, and Barbados. He has been married to Doreen since 1975. They have a son, Ashley Tabor-King.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabor, Michael 1941 births Living people Sportspeople from the London Borough of Newham British Jews British racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Epsom Derby winners Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners British expatriates in Monaco British bookmakers People from Forest Gate