Eddie Kenneally

Birthdate: June 19, 1966

Birthplace: County Waterford, Ireland

Residence: Lexington, Ky.

Family: wife, Catherine 

Eddie Kenneally grew up in Ireland in a family with strong ties to horses. His father had horses and his uncle was a jockey who famously finished a close second in the 1964 running of England’s legendary Grand National steeplechase. His brother, Johnny, operates a large Thoroughbred farm in Australia.

Kenneally first came to the United States in 1987 to work with young Thoroughbreds that were selling at major auctions before shifting his focus to the racetrack. He worked as an exercise rider and assistant trainer before taking a job in 1994 as trainer for the Thoroughbred racing stable of Jack Kent Cooke, the owner of the Washington Redskins National Football League team. When Cooke died in 1997, Kenneally started training for multiple clients.

Kenneally’s winter base is South Florida and he races the rest of the year primarily in Kentucky and New York. He scored his biggest career victory in 2007 in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen with Kelly’s Landing, who is retired from racing but is used as a companion horse to escort other Kenneally-trained horses to the track. Kenneally also trained multiple graded stakes winners Bradester, Custom for Carlos and Bushfire.