Tag: junior coffey

Frazier, White and Flag de Lune Join Washington Racing Hall of Fame

Jockey Basil Frazier, Grade I-winning mare Flag de Lune (Flag Officer), and racing writer/broadcaster Jon White will be inducted into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame this summer, Emerald Downs announced Wednesday.

Washington's Horse of the Year in 1984, Flag de Lune was a multiple stakes winner on dirt, including the inaugural running of the Longacres Lassies S., and became a Grade I winner on turf when she won the the 1984 Ramona H. at Del Mar.

A native of Spokane, Washington, Frazier rode in Canada and the United States, retiring in 1985 with 2,218 career victories. Frazier's crowning moment was a dramatic victory aboard Times Rush in the 1974 Longacres Mile.

Another native of Spokane, White has been a local and national force in racing media for over five decades. Beginning with Daily Racing Form as chart-caller at age 19, White has been a publicist, television host, morning-line maker and steward, his byline appearing in The BloodHorse, Los Angeles Times, Thoroughbred Record, Canadian Horse, and The Washington Thoroughbred, among others.

White currently writes a weekly column for Xpressbet.com, appears weekly on Steve Byk's national racing show, and produces morning lines for Santa Anita and Del Mar, including the morning lines for eight Breeders' Cups.

“What a tremendous honor it is for this Washington-bred to go into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame,” White said. “I consider it to be the pinnacle of my career in racing. I just wish that my father [Quentin White] was still alive to see this. As a lifelong racing fan, he'd be over the moon.”

The official induction ceremony will be held Aug. 10 at Emerald Downs. Also to be honored at the ceremony, longtime trainer and former NFL and University of Washington running back Junior Coffey will be presented with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement award.

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Washington Trainer Junior Coffey Dies

Junior Coffey, a star running back at the University of Washington and one of the state's most successful Thoroughbred trainers, died of congestive heart failure Monday at age 79.

A three-time All-Coast selection and three-time Honorable Mention All-American at Washington, Coffey led the Huskies in rushing in 1962 and 1964 and played professionally with the NFL's Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants. His pro career included a rookie stint on the Packers' 1965 championship squad coached by the famed Vince Lombardi.

After a knee injury curtailed his NFL career, Coffey turned to the world of horse racing as a Thoroughbred trainer in the mid-1970s, becoming one of the state's most respected trainers at Longacres and later Emerald Downs. At Emerald Downs, Coffey ranks fifth in all-time win percentage at 20.13%. He preferred a relatively small stable of runners and was “hands on” with every horse. “My objective,” he said, “is to have a sound and happy horse.”

Born Mar. 21, 1942, in Kyle, TX, Coffey starred at Dimmitt (Tex.) High School and is enshrined in the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame. Coffey said he wound up a Husky because Washington assistant Chesty Walker had seen Coffey play in Texas and convinced him to come to Seattle. At that time, colleges in the Southwest Conference were not integrated.

Emerald Downs founder Ron Crockett entrusted some of his top horses to Coffey including 2012 Belle Roberts winner Cielator and 2007 Longacres Mile runner-up Raise the Bluff.

“Junior Coffey was one of a kind in so many ways,” Crockett said. “He was an accomplished athlete, a talented horse trainer, a philosopher, a friend to many and most of all kindhearted. He was a trailblazer.”

Coffey won 174 races at Emerald Downs, including eight stakes races. He conditioned the filly Run Away Stevie to nine stakes victories including stakes triumphs at both Longacres and Emerald Downs. In his final start as a trainer, Coffey saddled Levitation to a neck victory under Rocco Bowen on Sept. 23, 2018.

Coffey is survived by his wife, Kathy. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The post Washington Trainer Junior Coffey Dies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Long-Time Washington Horse Trainer, Former NFL Player Junior Coffey Dies At Age 79

Junior Coffey, a star running back at the University of Washington and one of the state's most successful Thoroughbred trainers, died of congestive heart failure Monday at age 79.

Mr. Coffey died at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, according to wife Kathy Coffey.

A three-time All-Coast selection and three-time Honorable Mention All-American at Washington, Coffey led the Huskies in rushing in 1962 and 1964 and played professionally with the NFLs Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants. His pro career included a rookie stint on the Packers' 1965 championship squad coached by the famed Vince Lombardi.

After a knee-injury curtailed his NFL career, Coffey turned to the world of horse racing as a Thoroughbred trainer in the mid-1970s, becoming one of the state's most respected trainers at Longacres and later Emerald Downs.

At Emerald Downs, Coffey ranks No. 5 in all-time win percentage at 20.13 percent. He preferred a relatively small stable of runners and was “hands on” with every horse.

“My objective,” he said, “is to have a sound and happy horse.”

Born March 21, 1942, in Kyle Texas, Coffey starred at Dimmitt (Tex.) High School and is enshrined in the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame. Coffey said he wound up a Husky because Washington assistant Chesty Walker had seen Coffey play in Texas and convinced him to come to Seattle. At that time, colleges in the Southwest Conference were not integrated.

Emerald Downs founder Ron Crockett entrusted some of his top horses to Coffey including 2012 Belle Roberts winner Cielator and 2007 Longacres Mile runner-up Raise the Bluff.

“Junior Coffey was one of a kind in so many ways,” Crockett said. “He was an accomplished athlete, a talented horse trainer, a philosopher, a friend to many and most of all kindhearted. He was a trailblazer.”

Coffey won 174 races at Emerald Downs including eight stakes races. He conditioned the filly Run Away Stevie to nine stakes victories including stakes triumphs at both Longacres and Emerald Downs. In his final start as a trainer, Coffey saddled Levitation to a neck victory under Rocco Bowen on September 23, 2018.

Coffey is survived by his wife, Kathy. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The post Long-Time Washington Horse Trainer, Former NFL Player Junior Coffey Dies At Age 79 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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