Trainer Pat Kelly, among TAKE THE LEAD founders, retires after 45 years

Pat Kelly turned 75 on Sunday. It’s the second milestone he has achieved in the last six weeks.

Kelly, a son of Hall of Fame trainer Tommy “T.J.” Kelly, who enjoyed a good career of his own, retired from training after 45 years.

Kelly’s last starter was Fight On Lucy, who was retired from racing following her sixth-place finish in the Bay Ridge Stakes at Aqueduct on Dec. 17. Fight On Lucy was recently recognized as the 1,000th horse retired by New York’s TAKE THE LEAD retirement program, which Kelly helped found a decade ago. Richard Schosberg, also a founder of TAKE THE LEAD, announced his retirement from training at the end of 2022.

Speaking of his own retirement, Kelly said, “It was about time.”

Kelly, a University of Miami graduate, was a hotwalker for his father in Florida before going out on his own in 1977. During his 45-year career, Pat Kelly won 877 races from 8,795 starters and his horses earned $42,399,845, according to Equibase.

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Kelly campaigned several Grade 1 stakes winners, including fan favorite Evening Attire ($2.9 million), a nine-time graded stakes winner, Riskaverse ($2.1 million), Sultry Song ($1.6 million), Solar Splendor ($1.3 million) and Christiecat ($799,745). He also campaigned Naughty New Yorker, a New York-bred who won 11 stakes and earned just over $1 million as well.

On Sept. 12,1992, at Belmont Park, Kelly saddled half-brothers Solar Splendor and Sultry Song to back-to-back Grade 1 victories in the Man o’ War and Woodward Stakes. Sultry Song also won the Whitney at Saratoga and Hollywood Gold Cup in 1992.

“I had my hands on some really wonderful horses,” Kelly said. “I think back and Sultry Song won the Hollywood Gold Cup on what’s now a football stadium.”

In the 1982 Kentucky Derby, Kelly sent out 18-1 shot Laser Light to a second-place finish behind Gato del Sol, the 21-1 winner.

Kelly was an important behind-the-scenes player as well for the work he did as longtime vice president of the New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, assisting trainers and backstretch workers. He is still a member of the NYTHA board, with one more year remaining on his term.

Kelly and his wife Karen celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary in January. They have moved to Florida, though Kelly said he will plan trips to New York for the spring and summer.

“It’s been a great time, now I can play a little golf and take it easy and enjoy the sunshine,” he said.

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