Bob Holthus passes away at the age of seventy-seven
Born on 24th June, 1934 in table Rock, Nebraska, Bob Holthus passed away at the age of 77 on 22nd November, 2011. He was known for maintain one of the most famous, successful and largest stables in Midwest but then he started diminishing
the number of horses from there after being diagnosed of heart problems along with other various old age ailments which had surrounded him for now nearly a decade.
It was his father, Paul who initially trained him as after which Bob got the chance to work with trainer Bryan Wise before 1952 which was the year in which Bob started training his own horses at Columbus Racetrack.
Bob was an unmatched winner of nine trainer titles entitling him for being the dean for the Oaklawn backstretch. His racing career began at this race course in 1953 and ever since then he has never failed to attend all the meetings here. A considerable chunk
of his wins throughout his career were at the Hot Springs.
With stable earnings ranging to $46 million, he has won 2,824 races out of 19,674 starts. Through the fifty-five years that Bob spent at Oaklawn Park, he was among the very few esteemed enough to get access to the facilities from where it was possible for
him watch his horses as he was given the key to the grandstand decades back. Besides these he also led at the Arlington, Ellis Park, Hawthrone, Louisiana Downs, Turfway and Detroit Race Course, the old one.
He was generous enough to distribute the credit that he could have amassed alone, this he did by appreciating long term relationships with clients and his employees at the same time.
Assistant General Manager of Racing at Oaklawn, David Longinotti says,
“The entire Oaklawn family was very saddened to hear the news this morning about the passing of Bob Holthus.As we prepare for our live meet, we’ll definitely miss the Dean of the Oaklawn backstretch. His barn was a force to be reckoned with during his prime,
but he always had a helping hand for anyone that needed it. His horses, the generations of trainers he influenced and his work with Racetrack Chaplaincy will be his legacy”.