Preston Morris Burch (August 25, 1884 – April 8, 1978) 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 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 ...

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, or ...

, and owner

Biography

Family background

Born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, he was the son of Hall of Fame trainer, William P. Burch and Emily J. Cammer whose sister Leonora Cammer married another prominent horseman, Green B. Morris. Both Preston Burch and his brother

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

followed in their father's footsteps. He was greatly influenced by not only his father and uncle, but also by another Hall of Fame trainer,

Sam Hildreth Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Preston Burch trained horses for prominent American owners such as Francis R. Hitchcock and

John E. Madden John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky ...

Move to Europe

When the

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under Governor

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

outlawed all racetrack

betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

it resulted in the closing of every horse racetrack in the state after the end of the 1910 season. Following the state ban, the suddenly out-of-work Burch moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he was able to make a living training both

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

and

flat racing 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 p ...

Thoroughbreds for wealthy American owners Harry La Montagne, William Astor Chanler, George P. Eustis, and John Sanford. Competing at racetracks across Europe, among his successes was a win in the Grand Steeplechase International at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

with Harry La Montagne's horse Sultan VII. His racing career was interrupted by the outbreak of

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 ...

in which he served in France with the

American Field Service AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is an international youth exchange organization. It consists of over 50 independent, not-for-profit organizations, each with its own network of volunteers, professiona ...

as a volunteer

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

driver.

Return to United States

At the end of the War, Burch returned to the United States where he continued to train horses for John Sanford as well as for George Wingfield's Nevada Stock Farm and later for

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

auto body magnate,

Charles T. Fisher Charles Thomas Fisher (February 16, 1880 – August 8, 1963) was an American businessman and an automotive pioneer. Born in Norwalk, Ohio, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys a ...

. Burch eventually set up operations on the

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with major clients such as Admiral Cary T. Grayson, Samuel Ross, Walter M. Jeffords, Sr., William duPont, Jr.,

Marion duPont Scott Marion duPont Scott (May 3, 1894 – September 4, 1983) was a thoroughbred horsebreeder who operated a racing stable for both flat and steeplechase racing. She was the last private owner of Montpelier, the mansion and land estate of former Unite ...

Donald P. Ross Donald Peabody Ross (November 5, 1902 – October 11, 1973) was an American businessman who co-founded Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware, and whose Brandywine Stable won the 1962 Preakness Stakes with its colt, Greek Money. Another of t ...

and W. Deering Howe. Burch bred a number of successful horses, the most famous of which was the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

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 ...

Gallorette Gallorette (1942–1959) was a Maryland-bred chestnut thoroughbred filly who became a Hall of Fame race horse. Sired by Challenger II, out of Gallette, Gallorette's damsire was Sir Gallahad III. Breeding Trainer Preston M. Burch bought Gal ...

foaled in 1942. The following year he took over as head trainer for the highly successful

Brookmeade Stable Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by Dodge automobile heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924. I ...

, owned by

Isabel Dodge Sloane Isabel Cleves Dodge Sloane (February 1896 – March 16, 1962) was an American heiress and socialite who owned a major Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm. Isabel Dodge was the second of three children of Canadian-born Ivy Hawki ...

. Running Brookmeade Stable, in 1950 he was the United States' leading money winner. That year he trained the two-year-old colt,

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, with whom he would win the 1951

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 ...

In 1918, Burch saddled 1916

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 George Smith to victory in the Bowie Handicap at

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 ...

by defeating two other Kentucky Derby winners. The 1917 winner,

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...

, finished vsecond and 1918 winner, Exterminator, ran third. In addition, the 1918 Preakness Stakes winner

War Cloud War Cloud (1915–1923) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to compete in all three U.S.Triple Crown races. Background Bred by Jack Barnato Joel, one of Britain's most prominent Thoroughbred owner/breeders, W ...

finished twelfth. Known as someone who never allowed a horse to race unless it was in top condition, Burch was a founding member of the American Trainers Association. He was elected the Association's first president and served for seven years.Training Thoroughbred Horses by Preston Burch, p11 In 1953,

Blood-Horse Publications 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 ...

published his book titled "''Training Thoroughbred Horses''" (ASIN: B000O6YU38). The widely read book was reprinted in 1973, 1976, and again in 1992

Retirement

In 1957, Burch retired after a career that spanned fifty-six years. Under his tutelage, assistant trainers such as

Richard E. Handlen Richard E. Handlen (March 25, 1897 - June 2, 1963) was an American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing horse trainer, trainer whom the March 15, 1937 edition of the Los Angeles Times called "one of the best trainers in America" Rac ...

, Burley Parke, and Oscar White learned the art of conditioning Thoroughbreds and went on to very successful training careers of the own. Preston Burch was inducted in 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 1963. In 1973, he was the honored guest at the annual Testimonial Dinner given by the

Thoroughbred Club of America 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 con ...

. He was one of the trainers feature in the 2007 book '' Masters of the Turf: Ten Trainers Who Dominated Horse Racing's Golden Age'' by author Edward L. Bowen

Family

Burch's son J. Elliott Burch, Elliott also became a racehorse trainer. Like his father and grandfather, Elliott Burch had an outstanding career that resulted in his induction in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1980. Another son of Preston Burch, William Preston Burch (1919–1998), was a Longtime executive with

Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 ...

whose son Preston M. Burch II is a 1966 graduate of

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

with a degree in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and is the manager of the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

Program and Deputy Associate Director for Astrophysics,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

. Burch lived in

Dunn Loring, Virginia Dunn Loring is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,803 at the 2010 census. The area borders Merrifield, Vienna, and Tysons.Dunn Loring is in the Metropolitan Area and is a suburban area ...

at the time of his death in 1978.