Trainer John Toscano Jr. dies at 80
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John Toscano Jr., a trainer primarily on the New York Racing Association circuit for 55 years, died Thursday in a Long Island hospital after fighting myriad illnesses. He was 80 years old.
Since 1979, according to Equibase, Toscano won 428 races from 4,381 starters. His horses earned $18,368,122 in purse money.
“He graduated St. John’s in 1966, and he went right to the track as a hotwalker, making $30 a week,” said John Toscano III, one of three sons Toscano had. “He loved the horses. Working for Jimmy Picou was his first job.”
One of his best horses was Runninsonofagun, whom Toscano claimed for $40,000 on Dec. 31, 2021. Since then, Runninsonofagun has compiled a record of 4-4-6 from 22 starts and earned $602,715. He's won two runnings of the Grade 3 Bold Ruler.
“Having a horse like Runninsonofagun was special,” Toscano III said. “He was getting older. I didn’t know how many more he was going to get. That horse won some nice stakes.”
A career highlight for the Toscano family came in 2004 when Sinister G won the Lane’s End Stakes (now Jeff Ruby Steaks) at Turfway Park. Among the horses he beat was Birdstone, who would go on and win the Belmont Stakes, denying Smarty Jones the Triple Crown.
John Toscano Jr. trained the horse, Toscano III and his brother Robert owned the horse, and Paul Toscano, another brother, rode the horse.
“That was probably the highlight. It was a Grade 2, $500,000 race on ESPN,” Toscano III said. “My brother and I owned it, my other brother was the jockey, and dad was the trainer.”
Toscano had 12 horses in his barn. The stable will likely be taken over by Greg and Brandon Charlerie, the former being Toscano’s longtime assistant, according to Toscano III.
In addition to his three sons, Toscano is survived by a daughter, Carolyn. Toscano was predeceased by his wife, Frances, and had a companion, Grace Sola, for the last 25 years.
A viewing will held Monday from 3-8 p.m. at Funeral Park Chapels, 2175 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park, N.Y. A funeral mass will be held Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church in Franklin Square.
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