Thomas Albertrani

Born: March 21, 1958 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Residence: New York

Family: wife Fonda; daughters Teal and Noelle 

Tom Albertrani trained world-record holder, Twilight Eclipse to his first grade 1 event in the Man O' War Stakes on 5/9/15 at Belmont. Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, he defeated Champion Turf Male, Main Sequence. On March 7 this year, Ready For Rye became Tom's third win of the day in the G2 $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Another good winner this year is Empire Dreams who scored the biggest win of his career in Commentator Handicap at Belmont Park in May. 

Last year in 2014, Tom's four graded wins of nine stakes scores came from Snowbell, Anjaz, Romanish, Twilight Eclipse.  With 15 stakes winners and five graded in 2013, Thomas Albertrani’s current top runners were Better Lucky, Twilight Eclipse, Freedom Child and Buffum.

In 2012 while Brilliant Speed, winner of the 2011 Blue Grass Stakes (G1), picked up three third-place finishes in the Bowling Green (G2), Sword Dancer (G1) and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) ... Zo Impressive had not been worse than second until finishing fourth in the Alabama Stakes (G1), where she suffered a career ending condylar fracture. Her top victory was the Mother Goose Stakes (G1).

A personal favorite in 2011 was Tropical Park Derby winner King Congie ... The colt, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, was named after Congie DeVito, a longtime West Point employee who passed away at the age of 35 on Feb. 16, 2011. DeVito suffered from osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as brittle-bone disease, and was born with 25 broken bones.

Albertrani notched his lone Triple Crown victory with Bernardini, who captured the 2006 Preakness en route to being named that year’s champion 3-year-old and whose 2006 victories included a streak of five straight stakes wins: the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Travers, Jim Dandy, Preakness and Withers. Bernardini was second to Invasor (Arg) in the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic . . . “It was a pleasure to be around a horse the caliber of Bernardini,” Albertrani said. “I was so fortunate to train him.”

At stud, Bernardini has become one of the most sought after sires... He covered 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta, and she produced a colt on March 8, 2012 ... In 2012, Bernardini also covered 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and 2010 3-year-old filly champion Blind Luck.

Won the Tampa Bay Derby in 2010 with Odysseus, who suffered a hyperextended knee in the Blue Grass Stakes that prevented him from running in the Kentucky Derby and was unfortunately euthanized in August of that year due to laminitis.

In 2009, Albertrani sent out Gossip Girl to take the American Oaks and Sands Point and Criticism to triumph in the Long Island, for a second straight year, as well as the Sheepshead Bay.

His list of stakes winners also includes Deputy Glitters, Songster, Sauvage (Fr), Barrier Reef, Stage Luck and Tahitian Warrior.

Albertrani first made his way to the Belmont Park backstretch at age 13 when he went to work walking hots and grooming horses for his uncle, trainer Jack Abatemarco. He eventually became a jockey and rode in 685 races over parts of six years and compiled a record of 49 wins, 70 seconds and 68 thirds with total purse earnings of $531,410.

Worked for trainer Mark Casse, first as an exercise rider/jockey and then as assistant trainer, before becoming Bill Mott’s top N.Y. assistant in 1986. During that time, Mott developed champions Theatrical and Paradise Creek and Cigar emerged as a superstar. His future wife, Fonda, was the regular exercise rider for two-time Horse of the Year, Cigar.

In 1995, was hired by Godolphin Racing and moved his family to Dubai, where he was a top assistant with the main Godolphin string of trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Albertrani had been introduced to members of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation because Mott handled a few of their horses.

Albertrani and his family moved to Dubai two days after Cigar won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Belmont Park. Among the top horses he worked with were Street Cry (Ire), Imperial Gesture, Sakhee, Fantastic Light and Daylami (Ire). While Albertrani worked with bin Suroor, Godolphin won 85 Grade 1 and Group 1 races.

Albertrani and his brother, Louis, both celebrated Breeders’ Cup victories at Gulfstream the same day in 1999 with Daylami in the Turf and Artax in the Sprint.

In 2003, Albertrani began training in New York full-time with 10 horses for Darley, all owned by members of the Maktoum royal family of Dubai. Two years later, in Oct. 2005, Albertrani opened a public stable for the first time with the permission of Darley to take on some outside clients.

Albertrani registered his first official stakes winner as a trainer of record on Sept. 4, 2004, with Swither in the $250,000 NATC Sorority Futurity at Delaware Park for Darley and then saddled Balletto for his first Grade 1 win in the Frizette. His four Breeder’s Cup starters have finished in the money, starting with Balletto's third-place finish in the 2004 Juvenile Fillies. In 2006, Balletto finished third in the Ladies' Classic, while his stable star, Bernardini finished second in the Classic behind Invasor ... Brilliant Speed, his most recent runner finished third in the 2011 Turf.

He currently has over 50 horses stabled in New York, with Darley Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and Live Oak his primary clients.