Richard Eugene Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in
Altadena, California
Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downto ...
), is a
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horse trainer
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...
and a member of the
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.
Mandella's father, a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in high school he began starting and training horses at a nearby ranch. He spent a year in New York as assistant to
Lefty Nickerson and then took a job with
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
horseman
Roger Braugh in 1974.
Two years later, Mandella returned to California and opened his own stable. His wins began almost immediately with Bad 'n Big and continued with
Phone Trick,
Dare and Go
Dare may refer to:
Places
* Dare, East Timor, a city
* Darè, Italy, a commune
* Dare County, North Carolina, United States
* Dare, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
Name
* Dare (name), a list of people and fictional cha ...
, and
Pleasantly Perfect
Pleasantly Perfect (April 2, 1998 – June 3, 2020) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who retired as the fourth-richest American horse in career earnings.
Background
Pleasantly Perfect was sired by Pleasant Colony, winner of the 1981 Kentucky Derby ...
. Between 1996 and 1998, Mandella won six straight million dollar races in Southern California with Dare and Go,
Siphon
A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...
,
Gentlemen
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
, and
Malek. He has started six horses in the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...
.
Mandella was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2003 he had four winners in the
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 ...
: Pleasantly Perfect,
Johar,
Halfbridled, and
Action This Day.
In 2006, Mandella wrote the
introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...
to ''
Santa Anita Morning Rhapsody'', by photographer-author Karen S. Davis, a book documenting morning thoroughbred racetrack training. "Most people who enjoy racing don't realize how special these early hours are, watching ... the relationship between horse and man," he wrote.
In 2019, he ended his 13-year drought for stakes races outside of California. After remaining winless outside of his home state since winning the
Arlington Million
The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of ...
in 2006, Mandella captured the
Rebel Stakes
The Rebel Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in March, at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event currently of ...
and
Arkansas Derby
The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt.
In 2004, ...
with Omaha Beach.
Mandella lives in
Bradbury, California
Bradbury is a city in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below Angeles National Forest. Bradbury is bordered by the city of Monrovia to the w ...
, with his wife Randi, son Gary (also a trainer), and daughter Andrea.
References
Thoroughbred Times*
ttp://espn.go.com/horse/breederscup03/s/2003/1025/1646809.html Mandella's Perfect Day (2003 Breeder's Cup)National Racing Hall of Fame - Richard MandellaRichard Mandella at the NTRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandella
American horse trainers
United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees
1950 births
Living people
People from Altadena, California
People from Bradbury, California