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Keith Leo O'Brien

Years as an Owner: 20 years
Horses Owned (Current): 3
Horses Owned (Lifetime): 10
Best Horse: Old Shanachie
Best Win: Saratoga
Trainer(s): Leo O'Brien
Profession: Voice Actor/ Owner-Trainer
Email: keith@keithlobrien.com
Testimony
Best Experience as an Owner:
Anytime a horse wins!
What I like about Thoroughbred Racing:
The history and courage of the athletes, both equine and human!
How I Became a Thoroughbred Owner:
Born into the business of horse racing.
Best Advice:
It's not what you know, but rather who you know!
Owner Bio

      Keith was born into horse racing.  His father, Leo was a steeplechase jockey in the United States from 1964-1976.  Following a career ending injury suffered in a steeplechase race at Monmouth Park in 1976, Leo moved his family back to Ireland where he embarked on a training career with his brother Michael, who had been paralyzed in a steeplechase race in 1974.  They became champion steeplechase trainers in Ireland, in 1980, and subsequently Leo returned to the United States and more specifically, New York, to begin a new training career. 

     The time spent in Ireland was formative for Keith.  He was enthralled with the sport of horse racing and revelled going to the races alongside his father.  Watching, listening, and learning while in Ireland planted a seed that would continue to be cultivated when the family returned to the United States.  It was with a single horse based at Belmont that Leo opened a new training venture.  Keith attended Chaminade High School in Mineola and later earned his BA in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross.  The pull of horse racing proved too strong and following his graduation from Holy Cross, Keith pursued a career as a steeplechase jockey.  Riding and working for the top steeplechase conditioners in the land that included Janet Elliot(the first female to become champion steeplechase trainer in 1991), Jack Fisher and Tom Voss, Keith gleaned a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the management and care of racehorses.  A knowledge and experience he was able to apply  and utilize when he returned to New York to work for and with his father Leo at Belmont Park.

     Since 1997, Keith has worked at Belmont park, riding, assisting and training racehorses with his father.   In 1997 Keith ventured into the world of racehorse ownership and has created limited owner partnerships with varying degrees of success.  In 2009 Keith also became a professional voice actor.  It is a skill that has taken a great deal of time and effort to become proficient, and Keith's voice can be heard in a variety of voice over genres that include televison and radio commercials, audiobooks, video games and animated series.  In 2011, Keith became an accredited steward through the ROAP program.  Suffice it to say, Keith has a lifetime of experience in the international world of horse racing and continues to actively participate in all facets of racing.