Search the Breeders' Cup biography database for complete bio listings of participants
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Barclay Tagg
Top Associated Horses: Extinguish,
Dry Martini,
Spanish Comedy,
Storm Hope,
Dirty Water Dog,
Le Royale
Racing Background: Tagg, about his introduction to racing: "I was involved with show horses and hunters before I was in college. Then I got involved with racehorses in 1963 when I was managing a farm in Pennsylvania. I started riding jumpers in 1966, and five years later I started training horses near the end of 1971." ... Former assistant to Hall of Famer Frank Whiteley
Racing Career: Though he saddled his first winner, Tudor’s Fancy, at Philadelphia’s now-defunct Liberty Bell in January 1972, the publicly reserved Tagg did not rise to national prominence until 2003 with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, the first gelding to win the Derby since 1929 and the first-ever New York-bred to wear the roses ... Tagg plied his trade in the Mid-Atlantic region for more than two decades before moving his operation to the New York/Florida circuit ... He now has 70 horses stables in New York and 25 more at the Fair Hill Training Center that race at Delaware Park ... His primary owners are Lael Stables, Elizabeth Valando, Joyce B. Young, Sackatoga Stables and William Backer ... Even when in Maryland, was known for his Big Apple invasions; turf star Royal Mountain Inn won the 1994 Man o’ War at Belmont Park, and never lost in six tries on the Belmont green ... Won five stakes at five tracks with Miss Josh in 1991, including the Gamely Handicap at Hollywood Park ... At home in Maryland, Tagg’s Crab Grass won the overall Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship Series (MATCH) in 1999, earning bonus money of about $350,000 … Tagg’s dream 2003 season included a grade 1 win in the Alabama with Island Fashion, which denied a $2 million Triple Tiara bonus to the owners of Spoken Fur. Bobby Frankel, the trainer of Spoken Fur, also trained Empire Maker, who beat Funny Cide in the Belmont Stakes to deny Tagg and Sackatoga Stable a $5 million Triple Crown bonus ... Tagg and Funny Cide, the champion 3-year-old of 2003, continued their grade 1 successes in 2004 when the gritty gelding won the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Funny Cide continued to race into 2007 and retired sound after a win in the Wadsworth Memorial Handicap at Finger Lakes ... “I was hoping to make him a John Henry and win the Santa Anita Handicap at nine with him,” Tagg said, “but he hurt his back early in his 5-year-old season and he lost a step after that.” ... Funny Cide, purchased by Sackatoga for $75,000, won 11 of 38 starts and earned more than $3.5 million. He will be a stable pony for Tagg's barn ... “Training Funny Cide was a great experience. It was fun to have a horse that nice,” Tagg said. “It would have been great to have had him 20 years earlier in my life, but it was better to have him then than never at all.” ... Tagg returned to the Kentucky Derby in 2007 with Wood Memorial and Holy Bull winner Nobiz Like Shobiz, who finished 10th in the Run for the Roses. The versatile colt showed a new dimension when switched to the turf in late summer, winning three straight stakes races, including the Jamaica Handicap ... “It took a while for him to mature, but he can run pretty darn fast on any surface,” Tagg said of the Valando-owned 3-year-old ... Trains the promising 2-year-old Tale of Ekati, winner of the Futurity at Belmont Park ... His two Breeders' Cup runners in 2007 both finished fourth--Nobiz' in the Mile and Tale of Ekati in the Juvenile ... Tagg also conditioned leading turf runner Showing Up, winner of the Hollywood Derby in 2006. Showing Up, owned by Lael Stables, ran sixth in the Kentucky Derby which was won by the other Lael-owned colt, Barbaro. Showing Up suffered a torn suspensory ligament in his left foreleg after a runner-up finish in his lone 2007 start, the Maker’s Mark at Keeneland. Further injuries plagued the son of Strategic Mission which prompted his retirement in 2008 ... “Showing Up is as good a horse as I’ve ever trained,” Tagg said. “He’s a superior horse who has a tremendous desire to win.” ... Other stakes winners in 2007 include Dance Away Capote (Noble Damsel), Bit of Whimsy (Sands Point) and Dry Martini (Cornhusker) ... Through Dec. 31, 2007, the Tagg barn ranked 18th in nation in earnings with $5,174,308. His runnners won 63 races from 344 starts in 2007 ... In 2008, Tagg brought two starters to the Kentucky Derby--Tampa Bay Derby winner Big Truck and Tale of Ekati, who won the Wood Memorial. Tale of Ekati ran fourth at odds of 37-1, while Big Truck was 18th.
NOTE: Bio stats include North American and selected international races. Click here to view selected international race list. Biographies on jockeys, trainers and owners are from the Breeders' Cup World Championships events from 2001 through 2009, and are intended as informational resources. Biographies will be updated if an individual is again a participant in the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Biographies are available for most horses appearing in the top 100 money earnings list, and/or for those who are frequently making headlines in the news starting with the 2006 Triple Crown season.
