Kenneth McPeek
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Kenneth G. McPeek (born August 2, 1962, in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. In 2024 he trained Thorpedo Anna and Mystik Dan to victories in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, respectively, becoming the third trainer in history to sweep both races in the same year.[2] As of May 2024 he has won over 2,000 races, with 12 horses winning Grade I races.[1]
Life and career[edit]
McPeek was raised in Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from Tates Creek High School and then the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.[citation needed] In 1985 McPeek received his Thoroughbred Trainer's License.[citation needed]
McPeek serves on the Boards of the University of Kentucky College of Agricultural Equine Program Advisory Committee, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA), and the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA). He is a member of the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and The Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine Equine Veterinary Medical Director Search Committee.[3]
Major horses[edit]
McPeek has trained a number of racehorses. In 2024 he won the Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna and the Kentucky Derby wth Mystik Dan. In 2002, he won the Belmont Stakes with Sarava.[4] His horses won back-to-back Spinster Stakes' with Take Charge Lady in 2002 & 2003 and back-to-back Gulfstream Park Breeder's Cup Handicaps with Hard Buck (BRZ) & Prince Arch in 2004 & 2005.[5] Other Grade 1 victories include the Kentucky Oaks, the Florida Derby, Ashland Stakes (3 times), Blue Grass Stakes, Dixiana Breeders Futurity and the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (4 times) in his career.[5] He has also trained all-time leading North American money earner Curlin, Dream Empress, Tejano Run, Golden Ticket, Harlan's Holiday, Hard Buck (BRZ), Java's War, Pure Fun, Repent, Take Charge Lady, Salty Strike, Sweet Talker, Leah's Secret, She's A Devil Due, Wild Desert, Einstein, Prince Arch, Noble's Promise, Kathmanblu, Rogue Romance, Daddys Lil Darling, Eskimo Kisses, Signalman, Restless Rider, Swiss Skydiver, Simply Ravishing, King Fury, Crazy Beautiful, Tiz a Bomb, Rattle N Roll, Dash Attack, Butterbean, Classic Causeway, Corningstone, Mystik Dan and Thorpedo Anna among others.
McPeek has won more than 271 stakes in his career, with 114 of them graded.[citation needed] As of May 2024 he has over 2,000 career wins with earnings of more than $124 million.[1]
McPeek currently races primarily at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park and Saratoga, as well as keeping a division at his Magdalena Farm in Lexington.[6]
Training facilities[edit]
In 2006, McPeek purchased the former Pillar Stud Farm, a 115-acre parcel in Lexington, Kentucky, from William duPont III, who was selling off pieces of his massive landholdings portfolio due to financial difficulties.[7][8] McPeek renamed the farm to Magdalena Farm in honor of Magdalena Weber Shely (b. 6/2/1793), the original Matriarch of the land.[9]
The office at Magdalena Farm is the home base for McPeek Racing, Magdalena Racing Partnerships, and Horse Races Now, the comprehensive horse racing APP. Currently, the farm has over 150 horses that are either racing, training, or being broken to saddle. The farm also handles mares and foals, as well as layups, thereby covering all stages of a horse's career.[10]
McPeek purchased Silverleaf Training Center in Ocala, Florida, in 2019. Formerly the Padua Farm Training Center, the property includes a six furlong training track, four 24-stall barns, four paddocks, 20 stall/turnout paddocks, six covered round pens, and a five stall quarantine barn.
When horses are purchased as yearlings, they are taken to Magdalena Farm in Lexington. As they mature into two-year-olds, they are transferred to the Silverleaf Training Center in Ocala to be saddle broken, started under tack, and trained to use the starting gate. McPeek then moves the horses to finish their training at a race track, once each horse is ready to compete.
McPeek has made improvements to Silverleaf Training Center that directly benefit the two-year-olds' training such as having the track graded and adding a fully operational starting gate. New fencing and paddocks were also added.
The McPeek Silverleaf Team includes Lead Assistant Trainer Dominic Brennan, Assistant Trainer retired Eclipse award-winning jockey Robby Albarado, and Assistant Forman Shaun Charlton.
Mobile app[edit]
McPeek has developed a mobile app to provide comprehensive horse racing video and data for new fans and veteran horseplayers, called Horse Races Now.[11] He reported that he came up with the idea for a horse racing app while watching CNBC's Planet of the Apps, a one-hour program that explored the explosion of mobile technology, specifically through phone applications.[12] "During the show, I Googled 'horse racing apps' and there weren't any. I kind of politicked around and checked with some people to see if this was something that was happening. Long and short, I ended up doing it on my own because I just felt like it needed to be done."[13]
McPeek launched Horse Races Now on March 27, 2012,[13] and four years later, McPeek reported in a radio interview that the app had been downloaded over 500,000 times.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Trainer Profile | Kenneth G. McPeek". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ King, Byron (4 May 2024). "Mystik Dan Holds off Sierra Leone to Win Kentucky Derby". The Blood-Horse. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "About Kenny McPeek". www.mcpeekracing.com. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ^ "2002 Belmont Stakes Results". www.horse-races.net. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ a b "Equibase | Profiles". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "McPeek Racing : Magdalena Farm". mcpeekracing.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ By (1990-11-18). "MAN WITH THE MAGIC NAME HAS HEAVY BURDEN: DEBT". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ By (1995-07-16). "WILLIAM DUPONT III, FROM HIGH FINANCE TO HIGH WEEDS". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ Chapman, Ric (23 February 2006). "Kenny McPeek to Return to Training". bloodhorse.com/. Blood-Horse. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Magdalena History" (PDF). www.mcpeekracing.com. McPeek Racing. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Horse Races NOW! App Launched". www.bloodhorse.com. Blood-Horse Publications. April 4, 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ John Clay (April 28, 2013). "McPeek joins the app business". Lexington Herald-Leader. Louisville, KY. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- ^ a b Robert Yates (February 22, 2014). "Trainer offers app to give fans a hand". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock, AR. Retrieved October 29, 2014 – via http://www.arkansasonline.com/.
{{cite news}}: External link in|via= - ^ "Equine Forum". Horse Racing Radio Network. 14 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.