Vance Longden (March 14, 1930 – January 7, 2003) 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 ...

based in

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 ...

. Vance Longden was the son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

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 ...

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 ...

and his first wife, Helen. He was raised around horses and apprenticed with trainer

William Molter William Molter (June 2, 1910 – April 2, 1960) was an American National Champion and Hall of Fame horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. A native of Fredericksburg, Texas, Molter began his career in horse racing as a jockey at race ...

. At age twenty-three, Vance Longden was training on his own and using his father to ride some of his horses. Together, and as part of the

Alberta Ranches, Ltd. Alberta Ranches, Ltd. was a Thoroughbred horse racing partnership between U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey and Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Johnny Longden, his son Vance, and businessmen and Frank McMahon, Wilder H. Ripley, and Max Bell. The ...

partnership, they successfully raced a number of horses including the 1953

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

winner Royal Serenade, the 1955 U.S. Champion Turf Horse

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

, plus

Four-and-Twenty Four-and-Twenty (foaled 1958 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. The name comes from the lyrics to ''Sing a Song of Sixpence''. Background Four-and-Twenty was bred and raced by the Alberta Ranches, Ltd. partnership of Max Bell, ...

, winner of the 1961 Santa Anita Derby. The North American Pari-Mutuel Regulators Association says they are perhaps the only father-son, jockey-trainer duo ever to win major races at major tracks. Longden also raced a few seasons at

Hastings Racecourse Hastings Racecourse and Casino has been capturing the hearts and minds of visitors since 1889, featuring live thoroughbred racing, nearly 450 slots, dining, and more. A horse-racing facility and casino at Hastings Park, four miles from downtown Va ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

where he won thirty-six stakes races. In 1961 Vance Longden had two starters 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 ...

, both finishing off the board. Vance Londgen battled throat cancer for several years and eventually was only able to speak through the use of a voice box. His illness forced his retirement from racing and he was living in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

at the time of his death in 2003.''Bloodhorse.com'' - January 8, 2003 article titled "Retired California trainer Vance Longden Dead''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longden, Vance 1930 births 2003 deaths American horse trainers Sportspeople from California