Edward Albert "Eddie" Neloy (May 15, 1924 – May 26, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. At age fourteen, he began working at a racetrack then joined the United States Army during World War II. During the intense action in the Italian Campaign following Operation Shingle, Neloy was seriously wounded in Anzio and lost an eye.[1]
When the war ended, Neloy returned to work in the horse racing industry and as a trainer in 1945 won the first race of a successful career that lasted until his death in 1971. In the mid-1950s he trained for Maine Chance Farm and in 1964 was voted the National Turf Writers Trainer of the Year following an outstanding season that included Gedney Farms' outstanding colt, Gun Bow.
In 1966, Eddie Neloy was chosen by the Phipps family to replace the retiring Bill Winfrey as their head trainer. Neloy was responsible for conditioning the horses of Gladys Mills Phipps' Wheatley Stable, those of her son, Ogden Phipps, and her grandson, Dinny Phipps. In his first year, Neloy met with outstanding success, including winning thirteen straight races with Buckpasser who was voted American Horse of the Year honors.[2][3] During the five years he was with the Phipps family until his death in 1971, Neloy would be the U.S. leading money-winning trainer for 1966 through 1968 and the trainer of five Champions.
Eddie Neloy was training the two-year-old filly Numbered Account and had won the Fashion Stakes with her when he died suddenly of a heart attack in 1971.[4] His accomplishments in Thoroughbred racing were recognized in 1983 when he was posthumously inducted in the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Eddie Neloy Dies; Top Race Trainer". The New York Times. May 27, 1971. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ "A Muddy Horse of the Year". Sports Illustrated. October 10, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ "Horse Racing: Inexact but Incorporated". Time. Vol. 88, no. 8. August 19, 1966. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ "You Can't Blame A Girl For Trying". Sports Illustrated. November 22, 1971. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ "Edward A. Neloy". National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. January 1, 1983. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2019.