Veteran trainer David Pate dies at 70 Posted on July 8, 2013 by Jennie Rees (On a personal note, the David Pate-trained Deputy G’s victory in the 2005 Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs was as enjoyable a stakes as I ever covered. It’s always great to see good, hard-working people rewarded.) Trainer David E. Pate, who spent much of a half-century in horse racing training in Kentucky, died Saturday at Cincinnati’s University Hospital after complications from a brain aneurism. He was 70. Pate, a former leading trainer at River Downs in Cincinnati, won 565 races for purses exceeding $5.6 million, according to Equibase statistics. His eight stakes victories included Churchill Downs’ 2005 Bashford Manor with Deputy G, whom he trained for Louisville’s Spade Stable syndicate. “David consistently personified the best of a Kentucky horseman; professional, hard working and humble,” said Turfway Park general manager Chip Bach. “Regardless of his success on any particular day he would always greet you with a smile and a kind word. He will be missed by his Turfway family.” According to a Turfway Park bio of the trainer, Pate grew up riding horses on his family’s farm in Georgia and was a jockey for several years. “Once I started riding, I knew I wanted to train,” he said. “I learned something from every trainer I ever rode for.” Also with his riding experience, he told Turfway’s publicity department, “I’m not so quick to blame the jockey when things don’t go right.”. Pate started out his training career in 1972 with a small stable in Tampa before moving to Turfway, then known as Latonia. He took a hiatus from having his own horses in the late 1980s to be an assistant to prominent Maryland trainer Marvin Moncrief before returning to Kentucky for good, stabling for years at Turfway. Pate’s last starter was in February, 2012, with his wife of 30 years, Peggy, taking over the training, though he stayed involved with the stable. Pate was a longtime member of the Kentucky division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and honored as a Kentucky Colonel. Visitation will be Thursday from 5-8 p.m. ET at Chambers & Grubbs Funeral Home in Independence, Ky., with the service Friday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be sent to the family of David Pate c/o Chambers & Grubbs Funeral Home, 11382 Madison Pike, Independence, KY 41051.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 20:09:32 +0000
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