In Memory of a Great Man, Great Trainer and Friend

[Turfday]

My old friend Richard Matlow passed away yesterday from ALS. He was a wonderful man, a neighbor at one time, and one of my trainers back in the day. Great horseman and had a sharp eye for buying young horses and then reselling them. Very well respected by his colleagues and had such a good eye for a horse, was often associated with grading young horses for entry into the select sales here in So. Calif. He will be sorely missed by thoroughbred racing.

I knew Richard well enough to know that he started his training career way back at the old Caliente racetrack in Tijuana and that his first winner was Bombardito. He went on to have a long run of success in Northern California before moving his operation to Southern California.

It deeply saddens me to report that Richard passed away yesterday.(Tuesday). RIP dear friend.

[Ian Meyers]

I am very sorry to hear that. I only learned just recently that he had ALS. I did not know him personally, but those that did have told me he was a wonderful man. He was also a very good horseman.

May he rest in peace.

[DJofSD]

Bob, sorry for your loss. Hopefully there will be a tribute aired on TV during one of the upcoming races.

[Turfday]

NM

[reckless]

hello Bob:

I am terribly saddened by news of Richard Matlow's death and am sorry for your personal loss as well.

I only 'knew' him through a mention of his training prowess in one of Mark Cramer's old book 'Thoroughbred Cycles".

I believe the story goes this way: Mark wrote that one day at Hollywood Park he and a colleague hit 4-of-6 races in a large carryover Pick 6 while playing a relatively small ticket. Mark went on to mention that no matter how much he would have bet that day on the Pick 6 he'd still never would have hit that Pick 6.

The two losses were in races won by longshot maiden claiming first time starters trained by an 'unknown' trainer named Richard Matlow, who used a very low-percentage jockey. Plus the horses showed very, very slow 5-furlong workouts in the morning.

From that day on I became a Richard Matlow fan, hitting the next three first timers he sent out, including one ridden by then-little know rider David Flores that paid over $30 and keyed a very big exacta for me.

I continued religiously wagering on Matlow firsters until he started getting mentioned by people like Brad Free, who often would write 'from barn good with first time starters,' or horse 'makes debut from capable outfit'. stuff like that.

The Sweeps guy also eventually wroke up to Matlow in the DRF, and would often pick a Matlow first timer either 2nd or 3rd with similar comments: 'from crafty connections', or 'watch board for clues'.

When Matlow became 'discovered' by the main stream press, I stopped betting blindly his first timers and waited for a 2nd start or 3rd try with first time blinkers. I hit a few of those but the jig was up, so to speak, as the cat came out of the bag.

I almost called Santa Anita once to try and reach him for the sole reason of telling him how I respected his horsemanship, but never did so for fear I'd sound like a kook. Needless to say, I regretted not doing so for the longest time, even long before he became ill.

In the early 1990s a friend of mine, who was an ex-jockey-turned-small time trainer at Atlantic City, relocated to Southern California. He was an older guy by then but still a rounder and an operator. I told him to see 'my friend' Richard Matlow and to ask him for a job as an exercise rider, because the guy 'knew how to win'.

Well for the life of me, my old friend got an exercising job with Richard!

He called me about three months later and I asked how it was going working for Matlow.

He said 'this guy is just great. Never met a guy like him before. Not only is he good on pay day, you know what he did this morning? He hit a $1,500 trifecta yesterday a bunch of times and staked everybody in the barn'.

RIP Richard Matlow

[Imriledup]

Rip Mr Matlow.

You will be missed.

[Turfday]

TRAINER RICHARD MATLOW DEAD AT 66,

LONG-TIME CONDITIONER HIGHLY RESPECTED



ARCADIA, Calif. (April 1, 2009)—Long-time California based trainer Richard Matlow succumbed to the effects of Amytrophic Lateral Schlerosis (ALS) late Monday at his home in Monrovia at the age of 66. Best known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the Hall of Fame New York Yankee slugger who contracted the disease and retired as a result of it in 1939, ALS is a neurodegenerative disease which attacks the body’s central nervous system.

Matlow, who was diagnosed with ALS in February of 2008, and who announced his retirement as a result of the disease on Jan. 29, sent out his final starter on that same day at Santa Anita.

A native of Los Angeles, Matlow was born on May 28, 1942, and was a licensed trainer in California since 1968, dealing mostly with lower-level allowance horses and claiming stock. Greatly respected for his honesty and horsemanship, Matlow was regarded as an outstanding trainer who operated very successfully in a low-key manner.

His lone graded stakes win came just this past Nov. 23, when Jack o’ Lantern took the Gr. III Hollywood Preview Stakes under Isaias Enriquez, returning $41.80 to win.

“He’s a great trainer, a great friend and a very, very nice person,” said Enriquez on Jan. 30. “We’ve been together for the last four years. He let me ride everything. We had good times together.”

Fellow trainer Gary Lewis knew Matlow for 30 years. “He was a top trainer who always took his time with his horses,” said Lewis. “Any time they had a little problem, he’d send them out to the ranch for as long as they needed. He was a real horseman and he always gave his horses a chance to develop.

“It’s really amazing he lasted as long as he did with his disease. It was misdiagnosed a couple of times and he really suffered. In 30 years, I never heard him complain or knock anyone. He was just a first class guy,” he added.

Matlow is survived by his son, Andrew, 25, his mother, Florence Farell; brother, Stephen; sister, Candace Farrell and his former wife, Patricia. At Matlow’s request, there will be no funeral services.

[BUD]

The Ever Classy Jon White had some great things to say about this man. That was very Classy of Mr White.

My prayers to his family and friends

p

[alhattab]

My prayers go out to Mr. Matlow's family

[lamboguy]

white light to his family, i am always sorry to hear about great guys in the horse business moving on, we will all surely miss him

[PaceAdvantage]

Very sorry to hear this Bob...allow me to extend my condolences to you as well as all the family and friends of Richard Matlow.

[ManeMediaMogul]

Richard was a very classy guy with a great eye for a Thoroughbred athlete.

I bought five horses from Richard and won with every one.

He would stand in the back ring at Keeneland, often with Bruce Headley, and wait 'til a yearling would impress him. He would inspect him right there and if he liked him enough, go bid.

Richard always wanted his friends to make money with the horses he sold them and was never sour grapes when somebody won stakes with horses he bought and then resold (like Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Reraise), even though it took him 30 years to win a graded race as a trainer.

I talked to him last fall when I heard he was ill. It was a call I didn't want to make. I lit a cigar and poured a snifter of rum and sat out on my deck and dialed the number.

"It's not good big fella," he said. "I probably won't be here much longer."

In true Matlow form, he wasn't bitter.

We had a few laughs and shared a few of our 30 years of memories. It was really cool. I think I felt much worse about the whole thing than he did, which really illustrates what a great guy he was.

"Don't worry about me," he said at the end of the call. "I'm alright."

[reckless]

... made mention on Richard Matlow's passing, with a nice photo head shot.

I am a newbie watching TVG so the people talking on air at the time are unknown to me.

One, a heavyset man, said he purchased horses from him and that Matlow was a very fair and capable horseman. Also, he mentioned that Matlow was expert in evaluating yearlings.

Sorry I don't know the names of those two gentlemen on TVG but they did a very nice job paying tribute.

[Dave Schwartz]

Bob,

I always heard him to be an honorable man.

Sorry for your loss.

Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[CryingForTheHorses]

My old friend Richard Matlow passed away yesterday from ALS. He was a wonderful man, a neighbor at one time, and one of my trainers back in the day. Great horseman and had a sharp eye for buying young horses and then reselling them. Very well respected by his colleagues and had such a good eye for a horse, was often associated with grading young horses for entry into the select sales here in So. Calif. He will be sorely missed by thoroughbred racing.

I knew Richard well enough to know that he started his training career way back at the old Caliente racetrack in Tijuana and that his first winner was Bombardito. He went on to have a long run of success in Northern California before moving his operation to Southern California.

It deeply saddens me to report that Richard passed away yesterday.(Tuesday). RIP dear friend.



Very sorry to hear about your friend and trainer,Even know I didnt know him,Im sure he now has a powerful stable at Heaven Downs. God bless your friend and god Bless you for having the heart to "Hurt" for him

[toetoe]

I believe Matlow's no-name rider in Mark Cramer's book was the GREAT Luis Ortega ... :confused: .