James J. Toner

Born in Philadelphia, James Toner had an unorthodox introduction to horse racing. His cousin was a bartender at Garden State Park Racetrack where he introduced Toner to all the trainers and the racetrack locals. The day after graduating from high school, Toner headed to the Jersey Shore to work at Monmouth Park; and he’s been on the track ever since. Toner worked as an assistant to trainer W. R. Mitchell. At the age of 19, Toner traveled to New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack to run a horse for Mitchell. Upon arriving, officials at Aqueduct informed Toner that he needed a trainer’s license in order to run the horse. On the fly, Toner took the New York trainer’s exam and the racing secretary quickly amended the program to reflect the name of the young new trainer: J. J. Toner. To this day, Toner holds the record as New York’s youngest trainer to saddle a horse. The horse, Battle Empress, made the all last-minute preparations well worth it, as she went on to win that race.

Toner continued to work as an assistant trainer under Mitchell until 1963, when he was drafted to serve in the military. He spent two years active duty and one year in Korea. Once he returned to civilian life, Toner quickly picked up where he left off, working with thoroughbred racehorses on Meadowbrook Farm in Ocala, FL.

Anxious to return to the races, Toner returned to New Jersey, where he spent several years before he decided to train in New York full-time. There, Toner worked as a private trainer for Caesar Kimmel. They enjoyed a great deal of success with a multitude of winners, including Grade 1 winner, Buzz My Bell, who won the running of the 1983 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga Race Course and I’m Splendid, who took the 1985 edition of the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga Race Course and the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet.  Kimmel’s horses earned notoriety not only from their wins, but also the unusual, and occasionally off-color, names Kimmel chose for them.

In the early 1990s, Toner opened up his stable to train for a variety of owners. Ronald Nicholson, who partnered with Caesar Kimmel, owned such prominent horses as Flying Chevron, winner of the Grade 1 NYRA Mile, now known as the Cigar Mile. Toner also trained their silks-bearer, Blazing Fury, who won the Saranac Handicap and ran a game fourth in the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Turf.

His partnership with John Phillips began with a filly named Tribulation, winner of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II, which marked the beginning of a string of superb Phillips-owned and Toner-trainer turf fillies.  Toner trained Memories of Silver and developed her into one of the top turf fillies in her division.  At 3, Memories of Silver won the Lake George (Gr. 2), the Nijana (Gr. 3), the Queen Elizabeth II (Gr. 1), and finished a strong fifth against the colts in 1996 Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile. She came back at 4 to earn victories in the Just a Game (Gr. 1), the Beverly D. (Gr. 1), the Robert G. Dick Memorial, the Ballston Spa (Gr. 3), and the Diana Stakes (Gr. 1). Soaring Softly was another extraordinary turf mare whose accomplishments earned her the Eclipse Award in 1999 for Outstanding Turf Mare. Her resume included wins in the Sheepshead Bay (Gr. 2), the New York Handicap (Gr. 2), the Flower Bowl Invitational (Gr. 1), and to top off her stellar year, a win in the inaugural Filly and Mare Turf Breeders’ Cup (Gr. 1). Another notable filly among the Phillips/Toner partnership was Wonder Again, who collected wins in the Lake Placid (Gr. 2), the Garden City Handicap (Gr. 1), the Nobel Damsel (Gr. 3), the New York Handicap (Gr. 2), the Diana Handicap (Gr. 1), and placed third in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.  La Cloche, winner of the Voodoo Dancer and the Athenia (Gr. 3) as well as Recepta, winner of the Chelsea Flower, are two recent stakes winners that campaigned for Phillips and Toner. Perhaps the most well-known filly Toner has trained is Winter Memories, whose dramatic race style and majestic grey coloring quickly made her a fan favorite. Winter Memories was a precocious two-year-old, winning the Miss Grillo (Gr. 3) and finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf. At 3, she followed a path similar to her mother, winning the Appalachian (Gr. 3), the Lake George (Gr. 2) and, through her incredible bursts of speed, overcame great adversity to ensure a win in the Garden City (Gr. 1).  At 4, she went on to win the Beaugay Stakes (Gr. 3) and the Diana (Gr. 1). Her tenacity, honesty, and exhilarating style of running made her one of the most memorable horses Toner has ever trained as well as a personal favorite of his.

Toner, the consummate horseman, abides by the old-school standards of horsemanship while simultaneously adopting the demands of today’s racing game. He prides himself in offering owners of thoroughbred racehorses a life time of hands-on training experience, highly individualized attention to each horse, and competing at the nation’s highest level. Toner is primarily based out of New York. He also has horses stabled at Fair Hill, Maryland, for Justin Nicholson, manager of 90 North Racing Stable. Toner has a son, James, who has a business in Florida and a daughter, Catherine, who currently attends Brooklyn Law School.