Longtime leading Florida trainer Manny Tortora dead at 86

Emmanuel “Manny” Tortora, a perennial leading trainer in South Florida for some 20 years during his heyday, died of sepsis Aug. 7 in an assisted-living facility in Ocala, Fla. He was 86.

Tortora was best known for his work with Mecke, a deep-closing Florida-bred who won the 1996 Arlington Million and six other graded stakes when earning nearly $2.5 million for owner James R. Lewis Jr.

Born in Pembroke Pines, Fla., Tortora trained for more than 40 years before retiring in December 2014. He rode Quarter horses in Palm Beach in his teens before working on several farms in the Ocala area. He began training on the racetrack in 1972.

“My first year of training was the last year for the old Tropical Park,” Tortora told Daily Racing Form in a Jan. 2015 article. “I’ve done pretty much everything there is to do in racing. It gave me a good life.”

Tortora was the all-time leading trainer at his longtime base, Calder, which in a bygone era conducted racing about eight months a year. Tortora racked up 2,025 wins at Calder – the North Miami track eventually shuttered after being renamed Gulfstream Park West – and was inducted into the track’s hall of fame in 1998. He rarely ventured outside of South Florida except for major racing events.

Stable earnings for Tortora were at least $1 million for 17 straight years, 1990-2006, with a high of $3.2 million in 1996, when he won a career-best 95 races.

Mecke, a 1992 foal by Maudlin, earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in 18 of his 40 starts, including each of his last eight before being retired in Feb. 1997. He was a decent fifth behind Thunder Gulch in the 1995 Kentucky Derby.

“My best horse was Mecke,” Tortora said in the Form story.

Other graded winners trained by Tortora were Sir Pinder, Hollywood Wildcat, Boots ‘n Jackie, Show Me It All, Fappie’s Notebook, and Supervisor.

Tortora was predeceased by his wife, Jackie, and is survived by his three adult children, Ricky, Steve, and Toni.