Trainer Sandy Shulman dies at 78
Longtime Thoroughbred trainer Sandy Shulman died on Sunday at 78, his family said. Shulman was a racehorse owner and the operator of a photography business in Southern California in the early 1980s when he decided on a career change. He wanted to spend more time around horses.
Shulman became a Thoroughbred trainer and within a year had his first winner. Over the next three decades, he won two training titles at Hollywood Park and saddled graded stakes winners throughout California until his retirement in 2010.
Born in Pittsburgh, Sanford Harvey Shulman had his first winner with Teco Teco at Del Mar in 1982. His first stakes winner was Aventino in the 1986 Interco Handicap at Hollywood Park. The same year, Shulman won his first training title at the 1986 Orange County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos.
In 1988, Shulman lost the training title at the Hollywood Park autumn meeting on the final day to D. Wayne Lukas and was later second in the standings to Darrell Vienna at the 1991 Hollywood Park summer meeting. Overall, Shulman won four training titles, including the 1993 autumn and 1995 spring-summer meetings at Hollywood Park and the 1998 Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Fairplex Park.
For many years, Shulman was closely allied with Clear Valley Stables and Ron Charles, who were active in the acquisition of claiming horses. As Shulman’s training career continued, his stable grew in stature. He had his first graded stakes win when Thirst for Peace won the Grade 2 Bayakoa Stakes at Hollywood Park in 1994. Shulman’s richest win was with Champion Lodge in the Grade 2, $250,000 San Luis Rey Stakes at Santa Anita.
Shulman also trained the multiple stakes winners Abaginone, Jahafil, Pickle, and Uraib. His final winner was My Aunt Fanny at Hollywood Park in July 2010.
Shulman was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Ina Sue, who died last November. He is survived by his adult children, Leonard and Eileen. Services are scheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific at Mount Sinai, 5950 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation or Downtown Dog Rescue.