Billy Turner | Horse Racing Free Tips

Billy Turner, Trainer Of Triple Crown Winner Seattle Slew, Needs Help In Face Of Rapidly Spreading Cancer

Seattle Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown winner, holds a place of legends in horse racing and is one of the most well known racehorse names even outside of racing. Now Billy Turner, Seattle Slew's trainer through his undefeated Triple Crown run, is 81 years of age and facing advanced rapidly spreading cancer. He needs the help of the racing industry and Seattle Slew's fans.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help him with medical and other expenses at https://gofund.me/32279f47.

Billy Turner is the 81-year old former racehorse trainer, best known for his horsemanship and training of the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. A resident of Marion County, Fla. since his retirement from training, he was diagnosed almost two years ago with prostate cancer which had spread to and weakened his bones. Until recently, Billy was a resident at the Ocala Jockey Club farm townhome village. He made guest appearances at the Ocala Jockey Club International 3-day Event, and there was even a special $750 award created to honor a top-placing Thoroughbred with Seattle Slew heritage.

He was admitted to the hospital on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 after suffering significant shortness of breath, and fluid was drained from his lungs. Unfortunately, testing of the fluid revealed that his cancer had spread to his lungs. He has chosen not to receive further treatment for his cancer. On Monday, Dec. 27, he was transferred home for hospice care.

He is in good spirits and looking forward to being back with his wife Pat and in the comfort of a home environment.

Billy and Pat are facing increased healthcare costs, moving costs, and unforeseen costs related to his upcoming hospice care and beyond. Billy's latest hospital stay and hospice care is likely to add further unexpected medical and living costs. Pavla and Erik Nygaard, the former owners of the Ocala Jockey Club farm where the Turners lived until the recent sale of the farm, will match up to $10,000 of funds raised through this GoFundMe effort.

The world of horse racing, as well as other equestrian disciplines with Seattle Slew in their bloodlines, owes much to Billy Turner's masterful guidance of Seattle Slew and his legacy. It will mean much to Billy to have the financial support of his and Seattle's Slew's fans, as well as prayers and words of encouragement.

Seattle Slew after a bath at Spendthrift Farm in 1981

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Doug Peterson’s Son Wins in MLB Debut

David Peterson, the son of Doug Peterson, who trained Seattle Slew during his 4-year-old year, had a night to remember Tuesday as he was the winning pitcher in his MLB debut.

Peterson, 24, led the Mets to an 8-3 win over the lowly Boston Red Sox.

“This is one of the greatest days of my life,” Peterson said. “This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid, and to go out there and make my first major league start, we got the win and I couldn’t have asked for much more.”

Doug Peterson, just 26 at the time, was a little known trainer when Seattle Slew’s owners called on him to take over for the fired Billy Turner. Peterson guided Slew to wins in the GI Marlboro Cup, the GI Woodward and the GIII Stuyvesant H. He was named champion older male of 1978.

Peterson’s story ended in tragedy in 2004 when he died of an accidental drug overdose. David, his only child, was nine at the time. David subsequently moved to Colorado, where he was raised by his grandmother.

Peterson, who is 6′ foot 6″, two inches taller than his father, was taken in the first round of the draft by the Mets in 2017. He was a standout pitcher at the University of Oregon.

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Billy Turner, Trainer Of Triple Crown Winner Seattle Slew, Recovering From Broken Neck

Trainer Billy Turner, best known for his masterful handling of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, suffered a freak accident in April that left him in the hospital with a broken neck, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News. The 80-year-old retired from racing in 2016, but was mowing around the Ocala Jockey Club in Reddick, Fla., when he ran over a branch that struck him in the back of the neck.

Once hospitalized, Turner discovered he also had prostate cancer which had spread to his bones. The hit to his head also caused a brain injury. After surgery to repair his neck and nearly two months in the hospital, Turner was finally released to head home. Doctors are focusing on the neck and brain injuries before they are able to treat the cancer.

“He's doing remarkably well and his mental state is surprisingly good,” his wife, Patti Turner, told the Thoroughbred Daily News. “His injury was way more serious than just a broken neck. He was in rehab for four, five weeks learning to walk. He had a serious injury to his brain. His brain wasn't communicating with his body for balance and he even lost his ability to swallow. He has recovered from that. He can talk and eat. We started the GoFundMe campaign because he needs serious professional nursing care in the home to get over this hump. If he can get several months of really good care we think he can move forward.”

A friend and neighbor, Rick Wallace, has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help Turner cover his ongoing medical expenses.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Despite Many Hardships, Billy Turner Tries to Stay Optimistic

Seattle Slew’s trainer left the racetrack in 2016, moved to Florida and settled in for what he had thought would be a quiet retirement. It may have started out that way, but in late April Billy Turner’s life started to come apart. Living at the Ocala Jockey Club in Reddick, Florida, Turner suffered a freakish injury that caused him to break his neck. That was bad enough, but it was only one part of the story. While being treated in the hospital, it was discovered that he had prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones.

Somehow, Turner has managed to stay upbeat.

“My spirits are very good because I have some very good friends in this part of the country,” he said. “It’s the people around you that make the difference and I am lucky enough to have some good people around me.”

But those same people are struggling to figure out how they can help Turner through the ordeal, particularly when it comes to his medical bills. Turner will need extensive medical help going forward, but doesn’t have the money to pay for it. To help with the medical expenses, a friend and neighbor, Rick Wallace, has started a GoFund Me campaign for Turner, with a goal of raising $25,000.

“He needs a lot of help from everybody to try to get him back on track,” said Wallace, a well-known equestrian.

To keep busy, Turner would do odds jobs around the Ocala Jockey Club property and was mowing one day in late April when he ran over a branch. Turner said that it flew up and struck him in the area of his neck. His wife, Patti, believes the cancer weakened his bones and made them susceptible to breaking when Turner had the accident.

After successful surgery to repair his neck, Turner was released from the hospital last week, but the work to get him back on his feet is far from over. Now 80, he still needs extensive rehab and in-home care, which could go on for as long as six months.

“He’s doing remarkably well and his mental state is surprisingly good,” said Patti Turner. “His injury was way more serious than just a broken neck. He was in rehab for four, five weeks learning to walk. He had a serious injury to his brain. His brain wasn’t communicating with his body for balance and he even lost his ability to swallow. He has recovered from that. He can talk and eat. We started the GoFundMe campaign because he needs serious professional nursing care in the home to get over this hump. If he can get several months of really good care we think he can move forward.”

His needs are extensive, Patti Turner said. Her husband needs physical therapy. He still cannot stand up or walk, remnants of the brain injury he suffered, so he needs nursing care to get through even simple tasks and he needs a wheelchair. Patti Turner can only do so much.

Normally, medicare would cover medical expenses for someone of Turner’s age, but his wife said he was scammed by a telemarketer who signed him up for a new insurance policy that negated his medicare. She said representatives of the new insurance company have said they won’t pay for the doctors Turner is working with because they are “out of network.”

“It replaced medicare and they don’t want to pay for anything,” she said. “It is a despicable organization. I need an advocate who can navigate this whole insurance thing.”

Turner is doing much better from a cognitive standpoint. Ask him about Seattle Slew and he can talk all day. He said he still follows racing on the big days and will be watching the GI Belmont S. Saturday, 43 years after he won it with Seattle Slew.

For now, the plan of attack is to work on his neck and brain injuries. Turner’s doctors hope that those issues can improve to the point where they can focus in on the cancer. Wallace said the expectations are that Turner can live for at least two more years with the cancer.

“But they have to get him back up, walking and active again before they can work on the cancer,” he said. “If they can do that, they think he will have two good years.”

For his part, Turner is focused on the day to day. He could have two years left, he could have more. He will try to enjoy each one in the comfort of his friends and family, ready to get better and appreciative of what he has.

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