Mark A. Hennig

Mark Hennig was born in 1965 in Mansfield, Ohio. His family eventually moved to Grove City, Ohio where Mark began to help his father, John, at his stable as soon as he was able to be productive. As he attended Grove City High School he worked both before and after school cleaning stalls, ponying horses and assisting in feed time chores. Mark graduated high school in 1982, after his Junior year. He then went on to attend The Ohio State University with his sights set on veterinary medicine.

He spent his summer’s either working for his father or fellow trainer, Neil Howard. It was with Neil that Mark got his first taste of Saratoga. A filly named Weekend Delight, who Mark was grooming, won The Schylerville Stakes on opening day of the Saratoga Meet. Mark was hooked. After two and a half years of college, the call of the race track brought him back to his father’s stable. Mark continued to assist his father with his stable until his father unselfishly encouraged him to set his sights on loftier goals. With his father’s assistance, he landed a job working with Hall Of Fame trainer, Jack Van Berg in May of 1987. He worked in Southern California for Van Berg before he was hired by Hall Of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas in September of that year.

This enabled him to return to the East Coast where Mark worked as an assistant to Lukas in New York for two years. Lukas then entrusted Mark with his own division competing at Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Gulfstream Park and various other racetracks. In the summer of 1992, Mark was given the chance to go on his own as the trainer of record. Barry Irwin, of Team Valor, presented this opportunity to Mark in the form of a semi-private job. Mark once again returned to California winning his first race as a trainer with Arabian Ace in July of 1992 at Hollywood Park. The stable assembled a talented group of runners that included Star of Cozzene, who gave Mark his first stakes winner on January 1, 1993 in The San Gabriel Handicap (GIII) at Santa Anita.

This was the beginning of a breakout year. Mark went on to finish in the Nations Top 10 Trainer’s with earnings of over $4,000,000. He was fortunate to train not only Star Of Cozzene, winner of The GI Arlington Million, but also Personal Hope, winner of the GI Santa Anita Derby. In total, Mark’s horses won 19 stakes that year, and placed in 35 more. In 1995 Mark went on to form a public stable, largely due to the support of Edward P. Evans, which has enabled him to maintain a successful stable, annually placing him among the nation’s leading trainers. Mark now resides in Long Island, New York along with his wife, Rosemary, and their children. He travels to Florida for the winter racing season.