Juan Paco Gonzalez (born March 17, 1945 in Yahualica,

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer.

Life

The fourth of six children, Paco Gonzalez grew up on a ranch near

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

where his family owned

Quarter horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...

. As a boy he was inspired to go into the Thoroughbred racing business by two older brothers who were

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

s at Agua Caliente Racetrack in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

. In 1964, Paco Gonzalez followed his brothers north to

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 ...

where he found work as a stable hand for trainer Joe Manzi under whom he would learn the business for the next twenty-five years.

Career

Joe Manzi died in April 198

and Gonzalez took over as trainer of the stable whose clients included John A. Toffan, John Toffan and

Trudy McCaffery Trudy V. McCaffery (April 10, 1944 – February 12, 2007) was a Thoroughbred racehorse owner-breeder in California who served on the board of directors of the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation, the NTRA Charities, the California Thoroughbred Breeders ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

friends who raced as a partnership. For Toffan and McCaffrey and/or with other partners, the soft-spoken and reserved Paco Gonzalez enjoyed considerable success as the trainer of millionaire multiple

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

winners

Bien Bien Bien Bien (1989–2002) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred by William S. Farish III & William S. Kilroy and raced by Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan. He won eight stakes races during his career, including four Grade I events. He set a ...

, Free House, and Came Home. * Bien Bien won the 1992

Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes The Hollywood Turf Cup is a Graded stakes race, Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old or older over a distance of one and one-half miles (12 furlongs) on the Grass, turf track scheduled annually in late November at Del Mar R ...

, the 1993

Hollywood Invitational Turf Handicap The Charles Whittingham Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age three years old and older over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in late May at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event cur ...

, and the 1994

San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap The San Juan Capistrano Stakes is a Grade III American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of run on the turf track held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in June. The event currently offers a purse o ...

before retiring with earnings of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2,498,370. Bien Bien

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

d millionaire Bienamado whom Gonzalez trained and who in 2000/2001 won the same three major races as his sire had

* Free House retired with earnings of more than US$3.1 million having won major races such as the 1997 Santa Anita Derby, 1998

Pacific Classic Stakes The Pacific Classic Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of one and one quarter miles on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The even ...

, and 1999 Santa Anita Handicap. He also ran third 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 ...

, second by a nose 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 ...

, and third in the

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 ...

* Came Home earned US$1,835,940. His wins included the 2001

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

and the 2002 Santa Anita Derb

and Pacific Classic Stakes. Among other runners conditioned by Paco Gonzalez,

Del Mar Dennis Del Mar Dennis (foaled 1990 in Kentucky) is an American millionaire Thoroughbred racehorse who raced from a base at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California where he won three straight editions of the San Bernardino Handicap between 1994 and 1996 ...

won three straight editions of the

San Bernardino Handicap The Tokyo City Cup Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the beginning of April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade III event raced on dirt at a distance of miles (12 furlongs), it is open to horses aged f ...

between 1994 and 1996. As well, the Gonzalez-trained

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Pacific Squall The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

won the Grade I

Hollywood Oaks The Summertime Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in June at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Grade II event is open to three-year-old fillies willing to race on dirt at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles. ...

in 1992. Trudy McCaffery died in early 2007 and Paco Gonzalez continues to train horses on a smaller scale for John Toffan and wife, Cheryl.

References

June 5, 1997 ''New York Times'' article on J. Paco Gonzalez

May 3, 2002 ''St. Petersburg Times'' article titled "''Juan "Paco" Gonzalez, one of the most successful Latin American trainers, prefers to avoid the national spotlight.''"

Paco Gonzalez at the NTRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, J. Paco 1945 births Living people American horse trainers People from Arcadia, California Mexican emigrants to the United States People from Yahualica, Jalisco