BY SARAH WELK BAYNUM
Kathleen O’Connell has had a number of successes, including the prestigious title of winningest female trainer of all time with 18,274 wins as of Tuesday.
While she has called Florida home for many years, she first started her racing industry career in her home state of Michigan.
“I’m originally from Detroit, and I got my start at Detroit Racecourse. I caught a loose horse that was running at DRC, so that guy of course was very grateful. I just started hot walking horses and it snowballed from there,” O’Connell said.
“Then, I decided I wanted to gallop horses and ended up in Ocala that winter at Sherman Armstrong’s farm. Mike Basso from Detroit used to own it,” O’Connell said.
Since first getting her start as a trainer, O’Connell has trained several millionaires, been honored by the FTBOA for several titles including as the leading trainer of Florida-bred races won 14 times (2009-’19, 2020-’21, 2023); as the leading trainer of Florida-bred stakes-winners three times (2013, 2017 and 2019) and as the leading trainer by Florida-bred earnings (2013). The FTBOA also presented her with the Bruce Campbell Award in 2022 and a Special Award of Merit in 1999.
“We’ve been consistent over the years, and that’s one of the things I’m proudest of. We’ve had a lot of highlights, like Lady Shipman, who of course is the mother of Golden Pal. I competed in the Kentucky Derby in 2011 with Watch Me Go. We didn’t do any good [finishing 18th], but it was an honor just to get there.”
While she has had some very successful horses through the years, her first “big” horse was still one of the most special.
Blazing Sword was a multiple graded stakes winner of $1.1 million and was a homebred for O’Connell’s longtime client, the late Gil Campbell. Among his graded stakes victories were the 1997 Calder Derby (G3) and Widener Handicap (G3) and Washington Park Handicap (G2) in 2000.
“Blazing Sword was special because he was my first big horse in 1997. We competed in derbies all over the country. He won the Washington Park at Arlington when he was an older horse, and he made over a million dollars. We have a good business—I call it a blue-collar business. We haven’t had a bunch of stakes horses, but we come across them every once in a while. It’s not a claiming, shaking, moving operation either,” O’Connell said.
“We’ve developed a lot of horses for a lot of breeders and people that have been in the business buying young horses. You know, hoping for that diamond in the rough. It’s different than a lot of other trainers’ business because we don’t get the high dollar horses. We just do with what we have. We’ve had a lot of nice horses, though, so it’s been a good run.”
Despite having raced all over the country, Florida has become her second home and a great place to run her operation.
“When I moved here, they had one of the greatest baby programs there ever was. I started out at Tampa Bay Downs because I didn’t have the good horses to race down in Miami. In 1990, I was lucky enough to meet Gilbert and Marilyn Campbell. I still train for them to this day. Of course, Mr. Campbell’s passed away, but I still train for Marilyn. It’s been more of a long-term association with a lot of people that has defined my career. Now, Florida’s my second home. I feel like a semi-native even though I’m originally a Detroit Motown girl. But I was drawn to Florida because of the breeding industry and because of the babies and everything. It’s just been wonderful for me. I can’t say enough good things about it,” O’Connell said.
