Gregory Duncan "Don" Cameron ( – July 11, 1952) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

who trained

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

, who won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1943. A native of

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 ...

, Don Cameron served as an aviator in the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Working in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry, he trained for various owners including the prominent stables of Vera S. Bragg and J. Shirley Riley. However, he is best known for his time with

Stoner Creek Stud Stoner Creek Stud was an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm near Paris, Kentucky, originally owned by Chicago businessman John D. Hertz and his wife, Fannie Kesner Hertz (1881–1963). In his early business years in Chicago, John Hertz owned ...

training the horses for its owners, John & Fannie Hertz. Beginning in September 1940 Don Cameron trained

Challedon Challedon (1936–1958) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Maryland by William L. Brann and Robert S. Castle, he raced under the colors of their Branncastle Farm. Two-year-old-season Racing at age two, Chall ...

for owner William L. Brann and won the

Pimlico Special The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles ( furlongs) held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $300,000. ...

and

Havre de Grace Handicap The Havre de Grace Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run on the August 26, 1912 opening day of the new Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Although most of its runnings would take place in early fall, its fin ...

. He left Brann's employ in February 1941 and the horse's training was taken over by L. T. (Whitey) Whitehill.

Count Fleet and the Triple Crown

In 1939, he hired jockey

Johnny Longden John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to Can ...

to ride the horses owned by Vera S. Bragg and Fannie Hertz. With Longden riding

in all his races, in 1942 Don Cameron conditioned Mrs. Hertz's two-year-old colt to U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt honors. The following year the colt won 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 ...

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 ...

and

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

to become only the 6th U.S. Triple Crown Champion in the history of the

American Classic Races In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three ...

. Cameron would see his colt voted the 1943

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 ...

, the most prestigious honor for Thoroughbred runners in the United States. Among Cameron's other important horses was Vulcan's Forge, whose conditioning he took over in 1949 from U.S. Racing Hall of fame trainer, Syl Veitch. That year, Cameron saddled Vulcan's Forge to major wins in California's richest race, the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

and on the

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, the

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $700,000 purse. Named after the City and Su ...

at New York's

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

. In 1950, Don Cameron's trainee, Miche, notably won the La Sorpresa Handicap at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

, ending Citation's sixteen-race win streak Don Cameron died on July 11, 1952, at age fifty-eight from a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

References

Don Cameron at the Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby website

1890s births 1952 deaths American military personnel of World War I American horse trainers Sportspeople from California Deaths from coronary thrombosis {{US-horseracing-bio-stub