Lifelong racetracker Frank Kurinec dies at 99
Frank Kurinec, who worked at the racetrack from the age of 14 into his early 90s, recently died, according to friends. He was 99.
Kurinec was a jockey turned trainer who lived out his final years in Hot Springs, Ark. His last job on the track was working as a gap attendant for clockers at Oaklawn.
Kurinec launched his riding career at 16 and became fast friends in the jockeys’ room with Lucien Laurin, the eventual trainer of Secretariat. Kurinec also was a mentor to jockey Carroll Bierman, who won the 1940 Kentucky Derby with Gallahadion. As a trainer, Kurinec was a regular at Oaklawn and in 1960 won the Lafayette at Keeneland with Sal’s Beau.