Mike Stidham

Top Associated Horses: Caspian, Random Move, Whenthedealinsdone, Gran Estreno, Wild Sunday, L'Affaire

2009 Record: (391-64-66-45)

2009 Earnings: $2,327,745

2009 Win %: 16% In-The-Money %: 44%

Born: Dec. 18, 1957, Neptune, N.J.
Residence: New Orleans, La.
Family: three daughters, Stephanie, Samantha and Camille
Racing Background: Son of George Stidham, a former jockey and trainer, who died on April 1, 2005 at age 78 ... George Stidham also served as Bill Hartack’s business manager and part-time agent before he became a trainer ... Spent two years in college, setting his sights on becoming a veterinarian before deciding to become a trainer … Worked for his father in south Florida and began training on his own at Tampa Bay Downs in 1978 when his father sent him to the Gulf Coast with horses that did not fit at Gulfstream Park
Racing Career: Saddled his first career winner in 1979 … Moved to California in the early 1980s and trained for Elmendorf Farm when it was owned by Max Gluck … Returned to Florida after two years out west and assumed private training job with the LaCroix family's Meadowbrook Farm … Has found his niche in the Midwest the past several years, in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Illinois, where he maintains a high-percentage outfit for owners such as Greg Goodman, Stonerside Stable, Cobra Farm, Mike Rutherford, and Jack Smith and partners … First stakes winner was Me Good Man, who won the 1980 Independence Stakes at Louisiana … First graded stakes winner was Manzotti, winner of the 1988 John B. Campbell Handicap. Manzotti also won the 1988 Trenton Handicap and the 1988 Canterbury Cup … First grade 1 winner was Two Altazano, who won the 1994 Coaching Club American Oaks. Two Altazano went on a remarkable run as a 3-year-old in 1994, also winning the Fair Grounds Oaks, Sam Houston Oaks, Monmouth Oaks and Marie DeBartolo Oaks … Additional graded stakes winners include Desert Air (1999 Razorback Handicap) and Where’s Taylor (2000 Robert F. Carey Memorial Handicap) … Among his top horses in 2007 is Texas Fever, winner of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile and sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile ... Other stakes winners during the year have been Royal Leah, General Charley, Sandburr and Bold Angel ... Through Dec. 31, 2007 Stidham's runners have won 71 races in 434 starts for $2,010,149 in earnings ... Won his 1,000th race on Feb. 1, 2008, saddling Exoteric at Sam Houston Park.