Bruce Headley, California thoroughbred trainer, dies at 86
and last updated 2021-01-15 20:50:55-05
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) â Bruce Headley, the thoroughbred who developed sprint champion Kona Gold and many other stakes winners during a 61-year career based in California, died Friday. He was 86.
Santa Anita officials said Headley died at an Arcadia hospital from the effects of a stroke. He had been slowed in recent years by cardiac issues.
Headley was first introduced to racing at Santa Anita by an aunt at age six. At 14, he was mucking stalls and cooling out horses at a local ranch alongside 16-year-old Bill Shoemaker, who went on to become a Hall of Fame jockey.
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Bruce Headley: Feb. 17, 1934–Jan. 15, 2021
Veteran California-based trainer Bruce Headley, the developer of 2000 Eclipse Champion Sprinter Kona Gold and many other stakes winners, died Friday morning at Arcadia Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, Calif., from the effects of a stroke at age 86.
Born Feb. 17, 1934, in nearby Baldwin Park, Headley was first introduced to racing at Santa Anita by an aunt at age six. At age 14, he was mucking stalls and walking hots alongside a diminutive 16-year-old from El Monte named Willie Shoemaker at the Suzy Q Ranch in La Puente and from there, it was all racetrack – Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar, the LA County Fairgrounds, Bay Meadows, Tanforan, Golden Gate Fields and more.