Richard Eugene Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

), is a

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 ...

and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in high school he began starting and training horses at a nearby ranch. He spent a year in New York as assistant to Lefty Nickerson and then took a job with

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

horseman Roger Braugh in 1974. Two years later, Mandella returned to California and opened his own stable. His wins began almost immediately with Bad 'n Big and continued with

Phone Trick A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into ele ...

, Dare and Go, and

Pleasantly Perfect Pleasantly Perfect (April 2, 1998 – June 3, 2020) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who retired as the fourth-richest American horse in career earnings. Background Pleasantly Perfect was sired by Pleasant Colony, winner of the 1981 Kentucky Derby ...

. Between 1996 and 1998, Mandella won six straight million dollar races in Southern California with Dare and Go,

Siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

Gentlemen A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

, and Malek. He has started six horses 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 ...

. Mandella was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2003 he had four winners in the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

: Pleasantly Perfect,

Johar Johar (foaled 1999 in Kentucky, died November 10, 2014)http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/88680/stallion-johar-dies-at-age-15#ixzz3Irqla5SG was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2003 Breeders' Cup Turf in ...

Halfbridled Halfbridled (foaled February 2, 2001 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 2003 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Background Halfbridled is a bay mare bred by in Kentucky by the French-based Wertheimer et Frère, who ...

, and Action This Day. In 2006, Mandella wrote the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

to '' Santa Anita Morning Rhapsody'', by photographer-author Karen S. Davis, a book documenting morning thoroughbred racetrack training. "Most people who enjoy racing don't realize how special these early hours are, watching ... the relationship between horse and man," he wrote. In 2019, he ended his 13-year drought for stakes races outside of California. After remaining winless outside of his home state since winning the

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of ...

in 2006, Mandella captured the

Rebel Stakes The Rebel Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in March, at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event currently off ...

and

Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 2004, t ...

with Omaha Beach. Mandella lives in

Bradbury, California Bradbury is a city in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below Angeles National Forest. Bradbury is bordered by the city of Monrovia to the w ...

, with his wife Randi, son Gary (also a trainer), and daughter Andrea.

References

Thoroughbred Times

* ttp://espn.go.com/horse/breederscup03/s/2003/1025/1646809.html Mandella's Perfect Day (2003 Breeder's Cup)
National Racing Hall of Fame - Richard Mandella

Richard Mandella at the NTRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandella American horse trainers United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees 1950 births Living people People from Altadena, California People from Bradbury, California