Benjamin Allyn Jones (December 31, 1882 – June 13, 1961) was an American thoroughbred horse trainer. Ben Jones was born in Parnell, Missouri, and attended Wentworth Military Academy in

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

for high school. Jones went into the business of breeding and training of thoroughbreds during the first decade of the 20th century, racing his horses on small circuits in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

and in Mexico. By the end of the 1920s he was recognized as one of the better trainers in the industry. He gave up his operation to accept the job of trainer for

Woolford Farm Woolford Farm raised thoroughbred race horses in eastern Kansas, in what is now the city of Prairie Village, a suburb of Kansas City. The was owned by Herbert M. Woolf. Trainer Ben A. Jones worked there before going to Calumet Farm in Lexin ...

in Prairie Village, Kansas from 1931 to 1939 during which time he trained three champions including the 1938 Flamingo Stakes and

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

winner, Lawrin. For the next season, Jones was hired by Warren Wright, Sr. to train for his

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

and to take charge of its breeding operation. Under Ben Jones, Calumet became one of the greatest stables in thoroughbred racing history. Between 1938 and 1952, Jones won a record setting six Kentucky Derbies as a horse trainer. Until his record was matched by horse trainer Bob Baffert in 2020, Jones was the only trainer to win the Kentucky Derby six times, including victories by two U.S. Triple Crown winners, Whirlaway and

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...

. In 1948, Ben Jones was appointed general manager of Calumet Farm and his son, Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones, took over head trainer duties. Ben Jones made the cover of the May 30, 1949 issue of Time magazine. He retired in 1953 and in 1958 was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

. Ben Jones died in 1961 at the age of seventy-eight.

Kentucky Derby Race Record

† - Won the Triple Crown ‡ - While Jimmy Jones was the trainer of Citation, he allowed his father Ben Jones to be listed as the trainer in the Kentucky Derby. Jimmy took over Citation's training and won the Preakness and Belmont.

References

Ben A. Jones at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
* Bowen, Edward L. '' Masters of the Turf: Ten Trainers Who Dominated Horse Racing's Golden Age'' (2007)

Eclipse Press Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Publica ...

() {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ben A. 1882 births 1961 deaths People from Nodaway County, Missouri American horse trainers American Champion racehorse trainers United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Wentworth Military Academy and College alumni