Joseph Horace "Bud" Stotler (June 26, 1888 – October 14, 1957) was an American

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

trainer who conditioned horses that won four

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. He was of German descent. Commonly known as "Bud," he began working in the horse racing business in his native

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

where he first conditioned horses for a stable owner from his hometown of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. He eventually moved to compete on the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

circuit which at the time was a major player in Thoroughbred racing offering some of the best purses at a number of high-profile racetracks such as

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

Bowie Race Track The Bowie Race Track was a horse racing track located just outside the city limits of Bowie, Maryland. The one mile oval racetrack, known as Prince George's Park, was opened October 1, 1914 under the auspices of the Southern Maryland Agricultural ...

, Laurel Park and the

Timonium Racetrack The Maryland State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of Maryland. It is held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds located near the intersection of York and Timonium roads in Timonium. As of 2006, the fair is an 11-day event, customaril ...

. During his career, Bud Stotler trained for major owners such as for

Sagamore Farm Sagamore Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm on Belmont Avenue in Reisterstown, Maryland. Established in 1925, it was owned by Isaac Edward Emerson of Baltimore, who assembled the property as a gift for his daughter, Margaret. A ...

and beginning in 1932, simultaneously for the Shoshone Stable of William R. Coe. For Coe, Stotler conditioned the 1932

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

Ladysman Ladysman (foaled 1930) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the son of Pompey who was the winner of the 1925 Hopeful Stakes as a two-year-old and the prestigious Suburban Handicap as a four-year-old. He is best remembered for his runn ...

. In the last few years of his career he trained for Charles Howard, owner of

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

. Of his four starters in the

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 ...

Stotler's best finish was second in 1934 with

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

and from seven starters in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

his best was a second with

in 1933.

Sagamore Farm years

Sagamore Farm was a

Glyndon, Maryland Glyndon is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1871 by Dr. Charles A. Leas, the village is located in the northwest section of Baltimore County and is primarily a residential suburb of metropolitan ...

breeding farm with full training facilities. Hired in 1925, the operation was owned by Margaret Emerson, heiress to the

Bromo-Seltzer Bromo-Seltzer was a brand of antacid formulated to relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. It originally contained sodium bromide and acetanilide, both toxic substances which were eventually removed ...

fortune and widow of the also wealthy

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was a wealthy American businessman, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. A sportsman, he participated in and pioneered a number of related endeavors. He died in the sinking of ...

who lost his life when the

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and that held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlanti ...

was sunk by a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

on May 7, 1915. In 1933, she gave the farm and racing stable to her son Alfred Jr. and Stotler remained as the Sagamore Farm manager and trainer. Bud Stotler would earn national championship honors in 1935, winning 37 stakes races and earning more purse money than any trainer in the United States. The star of the Sagamore stable, and the horse for which Stotler is best remembered, was the 1935

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

and 1935 and 1936

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

. In 1939, Bud Stotler conditioned that year's

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

Now What ''Now What'' may refer to: * ''Now What'' (Lisa Marie Presley album), a 2005 album by Lisa Marie Presley * Now What (horse), racehorse * "Now What?" (House), an episode of ''House'' * '' Now What?!'', a 2013 album by Deep Purple * '' Now What?'' ...

, even though a serious automobile accident in April 1939 forced him to temporarily hand over his Sagamore training duties to assistant, Lee McCoy. In December 1939, Stotler announced his retirement and resigned from Sagamore Milwaukee Journal - December 5, 1939 article "Vanderbilt's Trainer Announces Retirement"
/ref> but returned later in 1940 to train a small stable of horses for himself and other clients until 1944 when he signed with the major

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

operation of Charles Howard. Following his retirement from racing, Stotler lived out his years in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, not far from

. Joseph and Ada Stotler's daughter, Katherine, married jockey John Bejshak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stotler, Joseph H. 1888 births 1957 deaths American horse trainers People from Somerset County, Pennsylvania American people of German descent