Trainer Scooter Dickey retires at 78

A lifetime in racing has come to a reluctant end for trainer Charles L. “Scooter” Dickey, whose roots in the game date to the 1950s in his native Kansas.

Dickey, 78, cited chronic health problems as his primary reason for dispersing what remained of his stable shortly after the Churchill meet ended Dec. 1. Instead of traveling to a warmer destination for the winter, as he has done for decades, he has slipped quietly into retirement in the Louisville home he shares with his wife, Dana.

“It was time,” said Dickey, who began riding races at unsanctioned bush tracks in his early teens before turning to training in 1963. “I’m just enjoying some quiet time, not having to worry about this or taking care of that.”

Easily the best horse Dickey trained was Flat Out, with whom he won the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and Grade 2 Suburban in 2011. In all, Dickey saddled more than 800 winners (complete statistics before 1976 are unavailable).

Asked whether his triumphs with Flat Out were the highlight of his career, Dickey said: “Oh, no. My whole career was the highlight. I loved every minute of it, everything about it. It was my life’s work.”