James G. Rowe, Sr.
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James G. Rowe, Sr. (1857–1929) was an American thoroughbred race horse jockey and trainer.
James Rowe went to work at a racetrack as a boy of ten and went from apprentice rider to leading jockey in the U.S. from 1871 to 1873 that included his winning the Belmont Stakes twice. However, with age came weight, and Rowe turned to the training of horses for the Dwyer Brothers Stable. On May 17, 1881, with the future Hall of Fame horse, "Hindoo," he became the youngest trainer to ever win the Kentucky Derby. The horse went on to win eighteen straight races that year, a record that still stands.
The Dwyer's were owners who pushed their horses hard in a manner that would be unacceptable and illegal today. James Rowe, quit the Dwyers in a dispute regarding overracing their horses, especially the splendid mare Miss Woodford, but his skills brought offers from other wealthy stable owners including James R. Keene and August Belmont then thirty-four years later for Harry Payne Whitney for whom he trained his second Kentucky Derby winner.
James Rowe was the leading money winner in 1908, 1913, and in 1915, the year the Whitney stables Regret became the first filly to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Regret was named 1915's Horse of the Year and would be elected to the racing Hall of Fame. Rowe had four second place finishes with horses in the Preakness Stakes and won it with Broomspun in 1921.
Despite his many victories in important races, it is the performance of his horses in the Belmont Stakes for which James Rowe is most remembered. Between 1883 and 1913, he won the Belmont Stakes eight times, more than any other trainer in history. One of those victories came in 1908 with a horse named Colin who went unbeaten during his fifteen race career. Rowe considered Colin to be the greatest horse he had ever trained and once said that for his epitaph, he only wanted these words carved on his tombstone: "He trained Colin."
In 1955, James Rowe, Sr. was inducted posthumously into the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. With thirty-four to his credit, he trained more champions than any other Hall of Fame trainer. His son, James G. Rowe, Jr. would also enjoy a very successful career as a trainer.
