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Wesley A. Ward

Statistics by Year:
 

Category Starters Starts Starts/Starter 1st 2nd 3rd Win % % 1st, 2nd or 3rd Earned Avg Earnings per Start Avg Earnings Per Starter
Dirt 45 73 1.62 27 14 13 36.99% 73.97% $2,459,541 $33,692 $54,656
Turf 49 79 1.61 17 15 4 21.52% 45.57% $1,480,976 $18,747 $30,224
All Weather 36 45 1.25 5 14 7 11.11% 57.78% $386,448 $8,588 $10,735
Total 100 197 1.97 49 43 24 24.87% 58.88% $4,326,965 $21,964 $43,270
  
Graded Stakes 10 16 1.6 2 1 2 12.5% 31.25% $817,014 $51,063 $81,701
Black-type Stakes 21 39 1.86 9 8 6 23.08% 58.97% $1,849,796 $47,431 $88,086
Two-year-olds 20 37 1.85 12 7 3 32.43% 59.46% $977,377 $26,416 $48,869
Claiming 11 13 1.18 2 2 3 15.38% 53.85% $60,446 $4,650 $5,495
First-time starters 28 28 5 8 2 17.86% 53.57% $401,243 $14,330 $14,330
Name: Wesley A. Ward
Email: nearcoman@comcast.net
Trainer Bio

Born: March 3, 1968, Selah, Wash.

Residence: Hollywood, Fla. / Married with three children

Son of Washington trainer Dennis Ward and grandson of popular New York outrider Jim Dailey, Ward was Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 1984 when he won 335 races and more than $5 million in purses and was Riding Champion at Aqueduct, Belmont and the Meadowlands that year. Later he rode in Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, Illinois and California, where he was aboard Ferdinand when the eventual Kentucky Derby winner broke his maiden as a 2-year-old.  Ward retired in from riding in 1989 and began assisting his father before going out on his own.

Ward had an excellent year in 2010 and won the most money of his training career to that point. Madman Diaries, whom he bred and raced in partnership with Robert Teel, finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and won the Sapling Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park and Pleasant Prince won the Ohio Derby (G3) and Oklahoma Derby and finished second in the Fountain of Youth (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

In 2009, Ward, who had never before been to England, entered the history books when he became the first American trainer to win at Royal Ascot. He took five horses there and Save the Tiger, whom he bred in a partnership, won the Windsor Castle Stakes. The very next day, two-year-old filly Jealous Again won the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) ... He trained the sprinting filly Pesci for movie actor Joe Pesci. ... Scored his first stakes win in the 1994 Cinema Handicap (G3) at Hollywood Park with Unfinished Symph, who went on to finish third in the Breeders' Cup Mile that year.

Among his best horses in 2012 are Gypsy Robin, winner of the Beaumont Stakes (G2) at Keeneland and Inaugural Stake at Presque Isle; Great Attack, winner of Tampa’s Turf Dash Stake and the Twin Spires Turf Spring Stake (G3) at Churchill; Lexington Stakes (G3) victor All Squared at Keeneland’s Spring Meet; and Rip Roarin Ritchie, winner of the Tyro Stake at Monmouth ... Other top horses in recent years are Pleasant Prince, who won the Ohio Stakes (G3) and Oklahoma Derby prior to his Breeders’ Cup attempts; and Madman Diaries, whom Ward bred in partnership with Robert Teel, who won the Sapling Stakes (G3) at Monmouth.

2011 was a milestone year for Ward, both in the United States and in Europe. He won his 1,000th race Sept. 17, 2011 at Kentucky Downs. Both victory number 999 and 1,000 came in stakes races with horses trained for top clients Ken and Sarah Ramsey. First Pleasant Prince won the Pot O' Luck Stakes at Belmont and then Cozy Kitten won the Franklin Mile at Kentucky Downs ... He also won four races in France and one in England in 2011. With Tiz Terrific’s victory at Longchamp, he became the first American-based conditioner to win there. He added another win at Longchamps with Italo and two at Chantilly with Judy the Beauty and Every Day Dave. Judy the Beauty also captured the Shady Well Stakes in Canada.

Success overseas was nothing new for Ward, as he made history in June of 2009 when he became the first American trainer to win at the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in England when two-year-old colt Strike the Tiger captured the Windsor Castle Stakes. On the very next day, two-year-old filly Jealous Again, whom he also owned in a partnership, won the Queen Mary Stakes (G2). Strike the Tiger and Jealous Again were among the five juveniles plus turf sprinter Cannonball that Ward ran at Royal Ascot during the meet.

Wesley has started over a dozen horses in the Breeders' Cup World Championships with four third-place finishes for his efforts, including two by Cannonball – in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in 2007 and in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. He also has three fourths. He sent out Pleasant Prince in 2010, who ran unplaced in the Classic won by Blame, and again in 2011, in the Marathon, where he finished fourth.

Clients  include Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Ice Wine Stables, William Hopkins, Hartsell Reed and Joe Pesci. He owns many of the horses he trains through partnerships ... He breeds horses on his farm in Ocala, Florida.

Ward is also known for mentoring young riders and gave a leg up to Christian Satiago Reyes in 2009 and Ariel Smith in 1999, helping each earn the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice. He tutored Reyes' older brother, Victor, in 2008.

Locations Manager on location Email Phone Day Rate # of horses trained
Keeneland 90.00
Saratoga 90.00
Gulfstream Park 90.00
What's your normal use of veterinary services to manage horses on a day-today basis:
  • Aggressive ($700+ month/horse)
  • Moderate ($300 - $600 month/horse)
  • Occasional (less than $300 month/horse)
Other than day rate, does your billing include charges for:
  • Veterinary
  • Blacksmith
  • Vanning
  • Travel
  • Other
How often do you communicate with Owners:
  • Daily
  • 2-3 times a week
  • Once a week
  • As needed

Top 10 Winning Horses - Past 12 months

Horse Sex Current Earnings Best Win Race Class Best Win Stake
Nakatomi Gelding $764,750 Grade 1 winner Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. G1
Kehoe Beach Filly $456,527 Grade 2 winner Mrs. Revere S. G2
Clock Tower Gelding $315,938 Grade 3 winner Cecil B. DeMille S. G3
Whatchatalkinabout Gelding $173,150 Grade 3 winner John A. Nerud S. G3
Funtastic Again Colt $93,911 Grade 3 winner Dominion Day S. G3
Arrest Me Red Gelding $413,410 Listed winner Big Daddy S.
Saturday Flirt Filly $164,140 Listed winner Soaring Softly S.
Long Neck Paula Filly $274,200 Stakes winner Bowman Mill S.
Running Away Filly $266,250 Stakes winner Horseshoe Indianapolis H.
Dreamaway Filly $218,180 Stakes winner Colleen S.
Horse Sex Earnings Best Race Class Best Stake
Judy the Beauty Filly $1,790,745 Champion female sprinter DraftKings Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint G1
Artie's Princess Filly $260,253 Champion female sprinter Bessarabian S. G2
Madman Diaries Gelding $352,499 Champion 2-year-old colt Sapling S. G3
Too Much Tip Filly $16,190 Champion 3-year-old filly
Golden Pal Colt $1,811,225 Grade 1 winner Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint G1
Nakatomi Gelding $1,726,026 Grade 1 winner Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. G1
Kimari Filly $1,039,594 Grade 1 winner Madison S. G1
Hootenanny Colt $712,963 Grade 1 winner Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf G1
Sunset Glow Filly $656,500 Grade 1 winner Del Mar Debutante S. G1
Chi Town Lady Filly $586,813 Grade 1 winner Longines Test S. G1
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