Sylvester E. "Syl" Veitch (February 24, 1910 – February 14, 1996) was a Hall of Fame

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 ...

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 ...

. He was the son of Silas Veitch, a jockey and trainer who began his career as an exercise boy with the powerful Joseph E. Seagram stable in his native

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 ...

and who would become a successful steeplechase trainer in the United States. Sylvester Veitch followed in his father's footsteps and also began his career in racing as a jockey and trainer in steeplechase racing. In 1939 he moved to

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 pr ...

when he was employed as a trainer with

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. He won two Belmont Stakes while in Whitney's employment, one in 1947 with

Phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

and the second in 1951 with Counterpoint. In 1958 he left his position with C.V. Whitney and began employment with George D. Widener, Jr. where he trained What a Treat, and many other notable horses. In 1971, after Mr. Widener's death, Sylvester Veitch opened his own public stable. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1977. Among his accomplishments, Sylvester Veitch held the single-season mark of 24 wins in 24 days set in 1954 at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...

, a record that held until 2003. In the course of his career he had forty-four stakes winners. He trained 5 champions in all:

First Flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...

in 1946,

in 1947, Counterpoint in 1951, Career Boy in 1956, and What a Treat in 1965. Sylvester Veitch died at the age of 85 at the Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, Long Island, New York in February 1996 after a brief illness. His son, John M. Veitch, was also a successful trainer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veitch, Sylvester American horse trainers United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees 1910 births 1996 deaths