Kenneth G. McPeek

A knack for finding talent at bargain prices and developing those young horses and bringing new owners into the racing has enabled Kenneth "Kenny" McPeek to rise to the top levels of the sport.

A top example of McPeek's skill at picking out good, young Thoroughbreds is Curlin. McPeek purchased the colt for $57,000 and turned him over to his assistant when he took a sabbatical from training. Curlin was sold after showing great ability early in his career and went on to be a two-time Horse of the Year and the leading money winner in North American racing history with more than $10 million in earnings. McPeek bought Noble's Promise for $10,000 as a weanling and he has won a Grade 1, a Grade 3 and earned more than $1 million.

Born in Arkansas and raised in Lexington, Ky., McPeek is a 1984 graduate of the University of Kentucky. He went to New York to interview for a job as a stockbroker, but instead took a job as a hotwalker for trainer Shug McGaughey. Since opening his own stable in 1985, he has trained over 1,700 winners and his horses have earned more than $86 million in purses through October 2020. Top horses trained by McPeek include champion Take Charge Lady and Belmont Stakes winner Sarava as well as Frac Daddy, Rosalind, Tejano Run, Daddys Lil Darling, Eskimo Kisses, and Signalman.

In 2020, McPeek scaled the pinnacles of racing with the filly Swiss Skydiver, another astute purchase he recommended for owner Peter Callahan. Callahan bought the filly for $35,000 and she won five graded stakes throughout the year, culminating with the Oct. 3 Preakness Stakes, McPeek’s second Triple Crown win as a trainer.