James A. Jerkens

James "Jimmy" Jerkens is a son of Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen "Chief" Jerkens. Jimmy went to work for his father upon graduating high school and eventually started his own stable in 1997.

Jerkens has trained several graded stakes winners, including Breeders' Cup Mile winner Artie Schiller, Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Corinthian, Sir Greely and Dat You Miz Blue.

Jerkens saddled Wicked Strong, a 3-year-old son of Hard Spun and the winner of the Wood Memorial (Grade 1), for a fourth-place finish in the 2014 Kentucky Derby. Wicked Strong later won the Jim Dandy Stakes.Later in the summer of 2014, Jerkens swept the top two spots in the $1.25-million Travers Stakes when V. E. Day edged stablemate Wicked Strong in the 1 1/4-mile "mid-summer Derby" at Saratoga.

In 2015, Jerkens conditioned Effinex to three graded stakes wins, including the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, and a second-place finish in the Breeders Breeders' Cup Classic behind American Pharoah. Jerkens unveiled a promising 3-year-old in 2016 when Unified opened his career with three straight wins, inclduing the Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes and the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes.