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Jay Robbins, the only trainer to win consecutive runnings of the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), has announced his retirement after more than four decades.
The 67-year-old Pasadena native officially called it a career April 10. He will go down in racing history as the only trainer to send out a repeat winner of the Classic, having done so in 2000 and 2001 with the California-bred Tiznow , who was named Horse of the Year in 2000.
"I've been thinking about retirement for a year or so," said Robbins, whose first winner, Kenavo, came in 1971 at Hollywood Park. "The uncertainty of the industry was more of a concern to me than anything else. I don't handle what's going on here that well."
He added: "The hard part will be learning how to sleep in. All these years I've been used to getting up at 3:15 to be at the barn by 4:45."
Agent Scott McClellan, who represented Tiznow's jockey, Hall of Famer Chris McCarron, recounted a memorable incident during his long association with Robbins.
"Chris was scheduled to breeze Tiznow a mile before the 2001 Classic but the horse was getting smarter in his old age," McClellan recalled. "A week before the mile breeze, McCarron was on Tiznow to break off at the wire but the horse wouldn't break off.
"He goes into the turn and he's stopping, refusing, won't break off. Now he's over by the gate, still won't break off. He finally got to the half-mile pole—this is 40 minutes later, mind you, not 10—so I suggested to Jay, 'Why don't we see if we can get him in the gate?'
"He says, 'That's a good idea,' and just then, Tiznow broke off at the half-mile pole. He worked a mile, from the half-mile pole, all the way around back to the half-mile pole, in 1:35 and change.
"Now I'm thinking, Jay ain't gonna ship and run this horse. He won't even work. Sure enough, a week later, he wins the Breeders' Cup."
