Eddie Truman, a longtime Southern California trainer who died Dec. 11 at age 77, never met an activity he didn’t want to try. Whether biking up and down the California coast, organizing a regular backstretch volleyball game, or taking a busload of racetrackers to Medieval Times—he was all in.
His enthusiasm for life’s variety may have kept his stable on the smaller side, but Truman approached his profession with the same dedication. Almost every morning found him standing directly under the Clocker’s Corner sign at Santa Anita Park, watching his horses carefully, but always ready to chat with friends.
Many of Truman’s best horses were California-breds, including Go West Marie . The daughter of Western Fame raced for Peter Redekop and competed in New York early in her career. Truman took over her training when she returned to California in 2014. She won the 2014 Fleet Treat Stakes and 2015 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint Stakes, Irish O’Brien Stakes, and Fran’s Valentine Stakes, earning a total of $557,520.
Go West Marie wins the 2015 Fran’s Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Truman, born in Kansas, came to California in 1972 after a brief career as a jockey. In 1963 as an apprentice, he was the leading rider at the now-defunct Sportsman’s Park in Chicago. He first trained horses in Michigan and worked for Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel in California before going out on his own. Through his career, Truman won 763 races for purse earnings of $15.7 million before retiring a year ago.
Clients not only kept horses with Truman for decades, but they also became his friends. Truman trained such runners as Cal-bred La Fonteyn, a stakes-placed earner of $154,500 in the 1980s, for the Budann Stable of Bud and Ann Parker. Truman and the Parkers did very well in the Southern California claiming game, in addition to being a formidable duo on the local racetrack bowling league.
Truman trained Casino King for part of that horse’s career. Casino King was owned by a partnership that included the parents of current trainer Phil D’Amato. While still a college student, D’Amato helped select Casino King for private purchase. A multiple stakes winner, Casino King won the 1999 Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Memorial Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Remington Park under Truman’s care.
Truman was a devoted family man; quick to show photos of his daughter, Kasey, and first grandchild. He and his wife, Elizabeth, enjoyed entertaining, and Truman was also close to his brother, Jerry, a former jockey.
