Robert Julian Frankel[2](July 9, 1941 – November 16, 2009) was an Americanthoroughbredrace horsetrainerwhomESPNcalled "one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of thoroughbred racing."[3]He was inducted into theNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Famein 1995, and was a five-time winner of theEclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer.Often referred to as "Bobby" by others, he preferred and always used "Robert".[4]Frankel set the single-season world record for most Grade/Group I victories in 2003 with 25 Grade I wins, a record that stood until it was beaten byAidan O'Brienin 2017.[5][6]
Early life and education
editFrankel was born July 9, 1941, to aGerman-Jewishfamily inBrooklyn,[7]the son of Merrill and Gertrude Frankel.[3]His parents were in the catering business.[3]His interest in horses was piqued when his parents took him toBelmont Parkas a child. After high school, he enrolled atC.W. Post CollegeonLong Islandbut soon quit after getting into a fight. Thereafter, he worked construction by day andgambledat the tracks by night,[7]eventually volunteering as ahot walkerso he could get a free pass to the evening races.[3]
Career
editEarly in his career in 1960sNew York City,Frankel assisted the prominent trainerBuddy Jacobson.On his own, Frankel saddled his first winner late in 1966[8]before struggling somewhat in 1967, when he won with just 9 of 101 starters.[9]During 1968 however, he won 36 of 165 outings with his horses accumulating $167,000 inpurse money.[10]In the next few years, he continued to prosper in New York and during the winter of 1970–71, he enjoyed some success at the West Coast meeting atSanta Anita.
After moving permanently to California in 1972, Frankel scored a series of wins that brought him to the attention of the horse-betting world, winning a record 60 races atHollywood Park.Many of those victories came with runners he acquired as low-cost claimers for one of his owners likeEdmund Gann,with whom he had a 30-year working relationship. These horses typically showed dramatic improvement under his care, sometimes winning their next start against higher-priced claiming levels.
Frankel was an avid follower of the training techniques ofCharlie Whittingham,trainer of champions such asFerdinandandSunday Silence.Frankel won severalEclipse Awards,the year-end thoroughbred racing awards, for best trainer. He set earnings records, Grade I stakes victory records, and many others. Frankel also won thePacific Classic Stakesa record six times, including four times in a row, also a record.
Some of his best race horses include:Squirtle Squirt,his firstBreeders' Cupwinner;Skimming,two-time winner of the Grade 1Pacific Classic Stakes;Sightseek,winner of theHumana Distaff Handicap(Gr. I) andOgden Phipps Handicap(Gr. I); triple Grade I winnerEmpire Maker,winner of theBelmont Stakes(Gr. I); multiple Grade I winningPeace Rules;two-timeSanta Anita Handicap(Gr. I) winnerMilwaukee Brew;Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf(Gr. I) winnerStarine,whom he also owned; andGhostzapper,theBreeders' Cup Classic(Gr. I) winner who was voted the 2004Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.
Frankel was theU.S. Champion Trainer by earningsin 2002 and 2003.
On June 26, 2005,Wild Desert,owned by several businesspeople including formerNew York YankeesmanagerJoe Torre,gave Frankel his first victory in the $1 millionQueen's Plate,the first leg of theCanadian Triple CrownatWoodbine Racetrack.
Personal life and death
editFrankel was married twice.
His first wife was Bernadette Birk (1950-2024)[11][12]: 24 [13]Birk was aRoman Catholic[14]ofWelshdescent[12]: 56 who converted toJudaismwhen they married.[14][12]: 28 [15]In 1970 they had one daughter,Bethenny Frankel,who later went on to become a reality television personality and businesswoman.[11]They divorced after four years of marriage, and Bernadette married horse trainerJohn Parisella.[11]Parisella and Frankel were originally friends as well as competitors.[16]
In 2003, he married Bonita Boniface. They divorced in 2006.[3]
Frankel died at his home inPacific Palisades,California on November 16, 2009, at the age of 68, after being diagnosed withleukemia.[7]Estranged from his daughter and once good friend (and step-father to Bethenny) Parisella, he reconciled with both before his death.[7][16]He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park inCulver City, California.
Legacy
editOn November 1, 2014,Bobby's Kitten,named after the late Hall of Fame trainer, captured theBreeders' Cup Turf SprintatSanta Anita Park.Bobby's Kitten is owned and bred byKenneth and Sarah Ramsey,who were clients of Frankel. Thecoltis trained byChad Brown,who was Frankel's New York assistant.[17]
In 2010, theSan Gorgonio Handicap- a race Frankel won eight times - was renamed theRobert J. Frankel Memorial Handicapin his honor.[18][19]
In 2008 a colt from Juddmonte Stud was namedFrankelin honour of the trainer. The colt, bred out ofGalileoandKind,was trained in Newmarket (England) by SirHenry Cecil,won all of his 14 starts, and received the highest rating ever awarded by the British publicationTimeform.After his 14th win in October 2012, it was announced Frankel was to be retired to stud.[20]
In 2004, he was inducted into theSouthern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[21][22]
References
edit- ^"Equibase: Robert J. Frankel",July 2, 2011.
- ^Veromi "Robert Frankel"
- ^abcdePrivman, Jay."Robert Frankel Dies At 68".ESPN,November 20, 2009.
- ^"DEL MAR Frankel's Hall of Fame Plaque a Bad Case of Inscription Error".
- ^"Bobby Frankel dies at 68".Daily Racing Form.November 16, 2009.RetrievedNovember 16,2009.
- ^"Trainer Aidan O'Brien breaks Group One wins record".BBC.October 28, 2017.RetrievedDecember 3,2017.
- ^abcdBloodhorse: "Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel Dies at 68" by Steve HaskinThe Blood-Horse,November 18, 2009.
- ^"Home - NTRA".
- ^TheAmerican Racing Manual,1968
- ^TheAmerican Racing Manual,1969
- ^abcMcNeil, Liz."Bethenny Frankel: Love Saved My Life"People Magazine,July 19, 2010.
- ^abcFrankel, Bethenny.A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life.
- ^Hutchinson, Bill."'Real Housewives of New York City' star Bethenny Frankel and husband Jason Hoppy separating"New York Daily News,December 23, 2012.
- ^abVideo Interview on BravoTV: "After Show: All About Baby – Part V: Bethenny talks about her religious background and the most important thing Baby Bryn has taught her"Bravo TV.Retrieved July 4, 2012. "My father was Jewish. The story goes – because you know I am not that close to my family, I am not there for the real history lessons – He married my mother and she converted to Judaism for him. She was Catholic but then she was with my stepfather for all those years. I went to Catholic school and I know more about that."
- ^Bethenny Frankel'sA Place of Yesquote: "Supposedly my mother converted to Judaism to marry my father even though she claimed to be an atheist."
- ^abPricci, John."A Brooklyn Tale"Horse Race Insider,November 18, 2009.
- ^"Bobby's Kitten will aim for BC Mile in 2015".
- ^"Santa Anita Honors Legendary Trainer Frankel, San Gorgonio Becomes Gr. II Robert J. Frankel"Archived2010-12-30 at theWayback Machine,Santa Anita Park,December 27, 2010.
- ^"Santa Anita Names Stakes After Frankel",The Blood-Horse,December 27, 2010.
- ^"Frankel ends glorious career unbeaten".BBC Sport.
- ^Sondheimer, Eric."OBITUARY: Bobby Frankel dies at 68; Hall of Fame racehorse trainer"Los Angeles Times,November 17, 2009.
- ^Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame: Bobby FrankelRetrieved July 4, 2012.