Former trainer Beau Greely dead at 49

Former trainer Beau Greely, best known for winning races like the Pacific Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup, died Wednesday after a brief illness in Redondo Beach, Calif., his longtime home after moving west from Kentucky. He was 49.

Borrego, bred and owned in partnership by Greely, won both the Pacific Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2005 and earned more than $2 million. He was 10th in the 2004 Kentucky Derby after finishing second in both the Louisiana Derby and Arkansas Derby. Greely’s other major winners included Manndar, who won the 2000 Manhattan; Five Star Day, who won the 2001 Vanderbilt; Sligo Bay, who won the 2002 Hollywood Turf Cup; and Tres Borrachos, who won the 2008 Swaps Stakes.

After his business slowed in the early 2010s, Greely – a fourth-generation trainer -- got out of training completely in 2015, with a career record of 131 wins from 1,327 starters. In recent years, he had turned his attention to underwater and art photography, with showings at local galleries in the Los Angeles area.

Born Christopher Beau Greely, Greely went by his middle name. His friends knew him as generous, good-natured, and always up for a good time.

His family has deep roots in racing. He is son of John “Bud” Greely III, a former trainer who owned Wintergreen Farm in Midway, Ky., and whose grandfather and father were trainers, too. Bud Greely planned the mating of Borrego, a son of El Prado. An uncle, Bill Greely, was the president of Keeneland from 1986 to 2000.

Greely’s older brother, John IV, who was a mainstay at Wintergreen, died earlier this year at age 54, and friends say it deeply impacted Beau, as the brothers were known to be very close.

Greely apprenticed in France with Criquette Head and in Southern California with Richard Mandella before striking out on his own in 1997.

He is survived his parents, Bud and Ann; three children – a son and two daughters – ex-wife Heidi Marsh, two sisters, and Tracy Stephenson, described in an on-line obituary from Milward Funeral Directors in Lexington, Ky., as “a special friend.”

Milward said a private burial service for Greely will be held in Lexington at Calvary Cemetery. The family requests donations in Greely’s name be made to God’s Food Pantry (1685 Jaggie Fox Way, Lexington, Ky., 40511).