Longtime Florida trainer Reed Combest dies at 88

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Longtime South Florida trainer Reed Combest died at the age of 88 earlier this month.

Combest trained for nearly four decades, retiring in 2013 with 487 victories for earnings of nearly $7 million. His most notable win came in 2002 at Gulfstream with Ms. Brookski in the Grade 2 Davona Dale.

Combest came from a racing family. His brother Jimmy rode for 40 years, and among his most notable achievements was a second place finish with Roman Line in the 1962 Kentucky Derby. His brother Nick was a successful trainer in New York until his death in a car accident in 1979. Combest, whose only son Phil trains the family stable at Gulfstream Park West, is also survived by Kathleen, his wife of 70 years.