Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

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 ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trainer. Born in

Fredericksburg, Texas Fredericksburg (german: Friedrichsberg) is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, this city had a population of 10,530. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. O ...

, and raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in

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 ...

history. He spent part of his formative years working as a groom and jockey at Morris Ranch in

Gillespie County, Texas Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,725. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the rural Texas Hill Country in Centra ...

. Hirsch conditioned horses for various owners including George W. Loft, Arthur B. Hancock, the infamous

Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate led ...

gambler

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athleti ...

, Morton L. Schwartz,

Jane Greer Jane Greer (born Bettejane Greer; September 9, 1924 – August 24, 2001) was an American film and television actress best known for her role as ''femme fatale'' Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir ''Out of the Past''. In 2009, ''The Guardian'' n ...

, and

Virginia Fair Vanderbilt Virginia Fair Vanderbilt (January 2, 1875 – July 7, 1935) was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family by marriage. E ...

, but is best known for his work with the King Ranch Stable, which he joined in the 1930s and for whom he trained until his death in 1969.

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three starts. Chinn then sold him for a huge profit to Virginia Fair Vanderbilt, who raced h ...

was the first Champion Max Hirsch trained and said his win over the French Champion Epinard in the third race of the 1924

International Special The International Specials of 1924 were a series of three Thoroughbred horse races held in September and October at three different race tracks in the United States. They were called "International" because the race included the champion from France ...

s was his greatest thrill in racing. A Hall of Fame inductee, Sarazen was the

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 ...

in 1924 and 1925. Max Hirsch won the first of his four

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 ...

in 1928 with

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. In 1936, he 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 ...

and

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 ...

with

Bold Venture ''Bold Venture'' was a syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that aired from 1951 to 1952. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions. Synopsis Salty seadog Slate S ...

and in 1946 captured the U.S. Triple Crown with Bold Venture's son

Assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

. In 1950, Hirsch won his third Kentucky Derby with another son of Bold Venture,

Middleground Middleground (April 22, 1947 – February 16, 1972) "Grave Matters Farm Index North America" (horse graves), Thoroughbred Heritage, 2005, webpage: was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1950 Kentucky Derby and Belmont S ...

who also won the Belmont Stakes. Max Hirsch 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 ...

in 1959. He died on April 3, 1969, at the Jewish General Hospital on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

and was buried next to his wife, Katherine Josephine Clare (1888-1941), in the

Cemetery of the Holy Rood The Cemetery of the Holy Rood is a Catholic cemetery located in Westbury, New York. The cemetery, established in 1930, is part of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. History The oldest part of the cemetery was originally the burial ...

in Westbury, Long Island.Max Hirsch Obituary - Spokane, Washington ''Spokesman-Review'' - April 3, 1969
/ref> His son,

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, followed in his footsteps and too was voted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.

In popular culture

Hirsch was featured in the eighth episode of season 2 of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

Television series

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

, where he was played by Robert Dorfman. There he was seen to be employed by

for training his racehorse Sidereal.

References

Additional sources

Texas Sports Hall of Fame article on Max Hirsch and the International Special No.3

Max Hirsch 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:Hirsch, Max 1880 births 1969 deaths American racehorse trainers Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood People from Fredericksburg, Texas United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees