Max Hirsch

For the economist, see Max Hirsch (economist).

Max Hirsch
Occupation	Trainer
Born	July 12, 1880 Fredericksburg, Texas
Died	April 3, 1969
Major racing wins, honours and awards
Major racing wins
(selected) Suburban Handicap (1923, 1946, 1966) International Special No. 3 (1924) Arlington Classic (1932, 1941, 1947) Jockey Club Gold Cup (1932, 1954) Travers Stakes (1934, 1938) Wood Memorial Stakes (1940, 1946) Jersey Derby (1942, 1959, 1968) Metropolitan Handicap (1942, 1955) Pimlico Special (1946) Arlington Handicap (1952) American Classic Race wins: Kentucky Derby (1936, 1946, 1950) Preakness Stakes (1936, 1946) Belmont Stakes (1928, 1946, 1950, 1954)
Racing awards
Triple Crown Champion Trainer (1946)
Honours
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1959)
Significant horses
Assault, Bold Venture, Bridal Flower But Why Not, High Gun, Gallant Bloom Grey Lag, Middleground, Sarazen, Stymie, Vito

Maximilian J. "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.

Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thoroughbred horse racing history. He spent part of his formative years working as a groom and jockey at Morris Ranch in Gillespie County, Texas.^[1] Hirsch conditioned horses for various owners including George W. Loft, Arthur B. Hancock, Morton L. Schwartz, Jane Greer, and Virginia Fair Vanderbilt but is best known for his work with the King Ranch Stable whom he joined in the 1930s and for whom he trained until his death in 1969.

Sarazen was the first Champion Max Hirsch trained and said his win over the French Champion Epinard in the third race of the 1924 International Specials was his greatest thrill in racing. A Hall of Fame inductee, Sarazen was the American Horse of the Year in 1924 and 1925.

Max Hirsch won the first of his four Belmont Stakes in 1928 with Vito. In 1936, he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Bold Venture and in 1946 captured the U.S. Triple Crown with Bold Venture's son Assault. In 1950, Hirsch won his third Kentucky Derby with another son of Bold Venture, Middleground who also won the Belmont Stakes.

Max Hirsch was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1959. His son, Buddy, followed in his footsteps and too was voted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.

References

1. ^ "Max Hirsch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhi34. Retrieved 26 January 2011. 

Additional sources

• Texas Sports Hall of Fame article on Max Hirsch and the International Special No.3
• Max Hirsch at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
• Bowen, Edward L. Masters of the Turf: Ten Trainers Who Dominated Horse Racing's Golden Age (2007) Eclipse Press (ISBN 978-1581501490)

Persondata
Name	Hirsch, Max
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 12, 1880
Place of birth	Fredericksburg, Texas
Date of death	April 3, 1969
Place of death