Maximilian Justice Hirsch was an American racehorse trainer. He trained Bold Venture, Zenica, Assault and Middleground, all Kentucky Derby winners.
Background
Maximilian Justice Hirsch was born on July 30, 1880 in Fredericksburg, Texas, United States. He was the son of Jacob Hirsch, a carpenter and postmaster, and his wife, Mary Neffendorf. By the age of ten, Hirsch was riding quarter horses on the ranch of John A. Morris. He served his apprenticeship on the half-mile and county-fair tracks of Texas. He served his apprenticeship on the half-mile and county-fair tracks of Texas. When Hirsch was twelve, he stowed away in a boxcar that was taking some of Morris' horses to Baltimore. "I just made up my mind I'd go with the horses. I wanted to see the races, " he later said.
Career
Hirsch worked as an exercise boy in Baltimore and became a jockey in 1894. He had 123 victories before his career was ended when he gained too much weight. He then became a trainer, and the first winner he saddled was a four-year-old, Guatama, at the fairgrounds in New Orleans on March 21, 1902.
He named a colt Beauclere in honor of his wife; it became his first stakes winner and won the Washington Cup in 1907. By 1915, Hirsch-trained horses were winning important races: Norse King won the Dwyer and became his first stakes winner in New York, and Papp (owned by George Loft) won the 1917 Futurity. The gangster Arnold Rothstein was one of the owners Hirsch trained for. The two men were involved in a famous betting coup on Sidereal, a horse that had not won a race. The trainer knew from his workouts that Sidereal could win and therefore entered him in the last race at Aqueduct. "I saw Rothstein and told him to organize things. Rothstein collected about eight guys and stationed one at each book, ready to bet as soon as he got the word. Sidereal trotted in and Rothstein started betting, " he later recalled. Sidereal won by a length and a half, and Rothstein and Hirsch are said to have won $770, 000.
The first champion that Hirsch trained was Sarazen, an undefeated two-year-old of 1923 bought by Mrs. Graham Fair Vanderbilt. Sarazen won eight stakes races in 1924, beating Epinard in the third International Special, and at four and five he was the leading handicapper. Hirsch trained for many owners in the 1920s, including Bernard Baruch. In 1928, Hirsch won the Belmont with Vito, owned by A. H. Cosden.
The King Ranch of Texas was Hirsch's largest assignment; its owner, Robert Kleberg Jr. , said Hirsch "showed us how to race. " In 1935, Split Second won the Selima Stakes, and in the years thereafter Hirsch would saddle fifty-three more stakes winners for the King Ranch. Hirsch won the Arlington Classic in 1941 with Attention, and then went on to train what is often considered Hirsch's best horse, Assault. When a yearling, he took a spike through a hoof, and many horsemen considered him hopeless. But Hirsch sent Assault to Columbia, South Carolina, where he wintered his best stock. He inserted a steel spring on the sole of the injured hoof. Assault won the 1946 Kentucky Derby by eight lengths and completed the Triple Crown with victories in the Preakness and Belmont. After Assault became ill and had a very bad race, Hirsch showed his ability by bringing the horse back; Assault beat his stablemate Stymie in the Pimlico Special, and the year ended with Assault's victory in the Westchester Handicap. When Bold Venture, another Hirsch-trained horse, won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 1936, it was the first time the Derby was won by an apprentice jockey (Ira Hanford, who had been developed by Mary McLennan). Hirsch displayed courage when he chose an eighteen-year-old apprentice, Bill Boland, to ride Middleground at Churchill Downs in 1950, but Boland gave Hirsch his third Derby.
The last horse he ran, Heartland, a four-year-old filly, won the feature race at Aqueduct on April 2, 1969. Hirsch died in New Hyde Park, New York.
Achievements
Hirsch was one of the best racehorse trainers of America. He showed he could get the best out of a jockey as well as a horse by picking apprentice jockeys who would win. Hirsch was also a superb judge of yearlings. Among those he bought were Grey Lag, On Watch, Roman Soldier, Dawn Play, Sortie, and High Gun. Among the Hirsch-trained fillies were But Why Not, One Hour, Good Gamble, Clarify, Hindu Queen, and Ciencia. In the last sixty years of his career, Hirsch won over 1, 900 races and over $12 million. At the time of his death, all horsemen considered him the best.
He was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 1959 and to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1970.
Views
Quotations:
When asked what he had learned about horses, Hirsch said, "Not a thing, at least as to how they'll turn out. Horses are a mystery. You can learn how to train a horse and keep improving your methods over the years, like I've done, but you'll never learn how to determine in advance which horse will be good and another bad. "
Personality
Hirsch had a reputation for generosity: at Saratoga his large breakfasts became famous. He could also be blunt with owners. Edward Lasker telephoned Hirsch with advice and received this telegram: "Any damn fool can read a condition book at 3, 000 miles. Max Hirsch. " Lasker later wrote, "Mr. Hirsch always felt that training owners was one of the most difficult parts of his profession. "
Connections
Hirsch married Katherine J Claire in 1905; they had five children.
The Hirsch children received a thorough training in horses. In 1933, Hirsch's daughter, Mary McLennan, became the first woman in the United States to get a thoroughbred trainer's license; two years later she became the first woman licensed to train in New York. Max Jr. , and William "Buddy" Hirsch were also trainers.
His home, Cottage 1 at Belmont Park, had a library of English and American books on training and breeding that was used by owners and their friends.
