Longtime Florida horseman Bates dies at age 77

Larry Bates, who spent more than six decades in the racing business, first as a jockey and exercise rider, then as a trainer on the South Florida circuit since 1993, died earlier this week following a long illness. He was 77.

Bates galloped horses for some of the country’s top trainers, including Allen Jerkens and E. I. Kelly Sr. among others. He was the leading apprentice rider in New England during his younger days before eventually moving on to the steeplechase circuit due to weight issues, according to his longtime friend, former trainer E.I. Kelly Jr.

“Larry had three passions – history, fishing, and horse racing, both flat and steeplechase,” said Kelly, who first met Bates when he galloped horses for his father 50 years earlier. “Literally and figuratively, Larry was a guy who rolled with the punches and as a horseman, you were always a winner if you had him in your corner.”

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Bates won 454 races during his training career, including the 2020 Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park with Verve. He sent out his last winner, Poiema, on April 20, a filly he owned who won four times, including three allowance races at Gulfstream over the past two seasons.

Donations can be made in Bates’s memory to Thoroughbred retirement initiatives.

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