Denise Martin, California Chrome owner-breeder, dies at 61

Denise Martin, who with husband Perry Martin co-bred and co-campaigned two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, died June 14 at age 61.

Denise Martin, a trained chemist, worked for the United States Air Force as a civilian employee at McClellan Air Force Base, and later was CEO of Martin Testing Labs in Sacramento, Calif., from its creation in 2000 to its sale in June 2020.

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The Martins co-founded Martin Racing, a Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding and racing operation based in Alpine, Wyo. Denise Martin managed the communications and the business aspects of the operation, while Perry Martin was the public voice and operations manager for the stable.

“Denise greatly enjoyed interacting with racing fans, whether she communicated with them in person or through California Chrome’s official social media channels,” Perry Martin said in a statement. “She also was solely responsible for all of Martin Racing’s charitable giving endeavors.”

California Chrome was bred by the Martins and the Coburn family, with the families initially campaigning the colt together as DAP Racing. California Chrome earned his first Horse of the Year title under that banner, with victories in the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

California Chrome later raced for the California Chrome LLC partnership, which included the Martins and Taylor Made Stallions. He was a multiple Grade 1/Group 1 winner in 2016, highlighted by the Dubai World Cup, to earn a second Horse of the Year title. The Martins participated in his stallion syndicate after his retirement, originally at Taylor Made in Kentucky and now in Japan.

The Martins have continued to expand their operations, buying mares to support California Chrome, racing some of his progeny as homebreds, and standing Thoroughbred stallions in California, Louisiana, and Wyoming, as well as the Hambletonian-winning Standardbred Trixton in Canada. The Martins’ homebred colt Mo Mosa has won two stakes this season, most recently the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile on May 31 at Lone Star Park