Passings of 2025
Frank Vespe
January 8, 2026
Each year is its own journey, each involving loss as well as progress.
We remember and thank everyone who loved racing who passed away during 2025, from the grooms and hotwalkers to trainers, jockeys, owners, and bettors.
Here are a few of the Midlantic passings that affected us this year:
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PETE MEDHURST
In January longtime Rosecroft announcer Pete Medhurst passed away after a brief battle with cancer. He was just 55.
Medhurst had also served as fill-in announcer at Laurel Park one summer when Dave Rodman was on hiatus and in recent years had co-hosted, with Scott Wykoff, a Preakness day program on WBAL Radio in Baltimore.
“Pete was a true professional in every sense of the word, and he was a man of great character and selflessness,” Ted Black wrote after Medhurst’s passing.
LARRY JOHNSON
Virginia-based breeder and owner R. Larry Johnson passed away Feb. 4 at age 78.
Johnson made lasting contributions to racing via his work on boards of directors of breeders’ and horsemen’s groups in Maryland and Virginia, including his work to promote more robust Maryland breeder bonuses and Virginia’s highly successful certified residency program.
His breeding program, which began with a modest Charles Town mare some 40 years ago, reached its apex in 2025. Future Is Now, campaigned by his estate, won three of four starts and earned a pair of graded stakes wins, while Mindframe, whom he sold as a yearling for $600,000, won a pair of Grade 1 races.
“He loved this sport; he loved this game, understood all the ins and outs,” said Johnson’s longtime trainer and friend, Michael Trombetta.
D. WAYNE LUKAS
About six weeks after saddling his final Preakness starter, American Promise, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas passed away. He was 89.
Lukas won seven editions of the Preakness – second-most to Bob Baffert’s eight – over a span of more than 40 years. His first Preakness winner, Codex, scored a controversial win in 1980. His final, Seize the Grey, pulled the upset in 2024. He also won four editions each of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
“It’s a game of experience,” he told Nick Hahn in 2019. “There’s no How-To book. There is nowhere to look up, ‘How do you win the Preakness?’ Go talk to Lukas and Baffert.”
MICHAEL VALIANTE
Delaware Park stalwart Michael Valiante died Sept. 6 at age 68.
Valiante, a longtime fan and bettor, also wrote for The Racing Biz and maintained an active account on X, formerly Twitter.
He could be found virtually every day of live racing at Delaware Park, either in the paddock, near the winner’s circle, or in the dining room with some of his many friends. He loved the people of racing.
“Mike’s passion for horse racing was legendary among those who knew him,” his obituary stated.
SAM ENGLISH
Longtime Virginia breeder and owner Sam English passed in November at age 80.
A dentist by trade, English, according to Equibase, earned his first wins as an owner in 2003 and went on to win more than 140 races.
“What began with a few horses stabled near his Mechanicsville home grew into a flourishing thoroughbred racing and breeding operation known as English Racing Stables, with farms in Goochland, Dinwiddie, and Charles Town,” according to his obituary.
One of his top runners, Chambeau, had the unusual distinction of winning the Tyson Gilpin Stakes at Colonial Downs at first asking – at age five. She went on to earn nearly $420,000.
JIMBO BRACCIALE
Retired jockey Vincent “Jimbo” Bracciale passed away Dec. 15 at age 72.
A winner of more than 3,500 races, Bracciale won 39 graded stakes recorded on Equibase and others prior to its jockey records.
Two of those prior wins came aboard the great Ruffian, as Bracciale filled in twice for regular pilot Jacinto Vasquez. Both of his rides produced wins.
“I had nothing to do for [Ruffian’s trainer Frank Whiteley] most of the time, but every once in a while he’d have something for me,” Bracciale told This Is Horse Racing in 2024 of the trainer’s decision to use him on Ruffian. “He knew my father, who used to ride, and I had ridden a few for him in Maryland so he knew me, and I guess he thought I did a good job.”
Bracciale, the son of a jockey-turned-trainer, grew up in Charles Town and did most of his riding in Maryland. In later years he trained a few and was a regular backstretch presence.
“He was loved and will be missed by many,” said longtime Maryland trainer Robin Graham.
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Frank Perri
08th Jan 2026Thank for recognizing those that passed and their contributions to make Mid Atlantic better !