William H. Turner, Jr.

Horseracing personalities infobox


name = William H. Turner, Jr.
|caption =
occupation = Trainer
birthplace = United States
birth date = February 29, 1940
death date =
career wins = ongoing
race = Remsen Stakes (1967)
Nashua Stakes (1975, 1993)
Champagne Stakes (1976)
Flamingo Stakes (1977)
Wood Memorial Stakes (1977)
Jerome Handicap (1979)
Withers Stakes (1979, 1984)
Carter Handicap (1980)
Metropolitan Handicap (1980)
Delaware Handicap (1995)
Fall Highweight Handicap (1998)

American Classic Race wins:
Kentucky Derby (1977)
Preakness Stakes (1977)
Belmont Stakes
awards =
honours =
horses = Salerno, Czaravich, Seattle Slew, Play On
updated = July 25, 2007

William H. "Billy" Turner (born February 29, 1940) is successful American Thoroughbred flat racing trainer who began his career as a Steeplechase jockey. He is also known fairly well in Brazil, having tried and failed at becoming a bull-runner, resulting in a bad injury.

In 1975, owners Karen & Mickey Taylor gave their $17,500 colt for training to Billy Turner at the Middleburg Training Center in Middleburg, Virginia. Under Turner, the colt named Seattle Slew went undefeated in his two-year-old racing season and was voted the 1976 Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse. The following year Turner became only the ninth trainer in American racing history to win the U.S. Triple Crown when he saddled Seatlle Slew to victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes and was voted U.S. Horse of the Year. A recovering alcoholic, Turner's problems at the time resulted in him being dismissed by Seattle Slew's owners after his three-year-old season.

In 1984, Billy Turner conditioned Welcome Farm's colt, Play On, winning that year's Withers Stakes and finishing second to Gate Dancer in the Preakness Stakes. In recent years he has been working in Long Island, New York, training horses that compete on the New York Racing Association circuit as well as at Monmouth Park and other venues in the U.S. Northeast.

References

* [http://www.seattleslew.com/race_details.aspx?rid=5 Billy Turner at the official Seattle Slew website of Karen & Mickey Taylor]
* [http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/stallion-directory/reference.aspx?doc=seattleslew Thoroughbred Times article by John P. Sparkman on Seattle Slew and Billy Turner]