Trainer Jim Cassidy Honored by CTBA

Jim Cassidy has been involved in horse racing for a long time. A native of the Bronx, he attended City College of New York for one semester, then quit school to devote more time to horse racing.

He came to the Arcadia area in 1981 as an assistant trainer and got a trainer’s license nine years later.

Cassidy is now 65, and during his long career he has never had a year like he did in 2010.

Two of his horses, Evening Jewel and The Usual Q.T., each had outstanding campaigns. So did Cassidy.

And Tuesday night at an elaborate awards dinner at the Loews Coronado Resort in San Diego, Cassidy, who lives in Monrovia with his wife Melanie, was named trainer of the year by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

“I’ve had two better years monetarily, but overall nothing quite compares to the year I had in 2010,” Cassidy said.

The CTBA, which is based in Arcadia, named Evening Jewel horse of the year. Evening Jewel also won top honors in the 3-year-old female category, and The Usual Q.T., a 5-year-old son of highly regarded stallion Unusual Heat, was named both turf champion and older male champion.

Evening Jewel has won seven times in her career and three of those victories came in 2010. It easily could have been five victories because she lost two big races by a nose – both to Blind Luck.

Evening Jewel also finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 2, she came back to win the Sunshine Millions Distaff on Jan. 29. She is set to run again in the Buena Vista at Santa Anita as part of a special President’s Day program on Monday.

Bloodstock agent Gary Young, who works closely with Cassidy, bought Evening Jewel for Tom and Marilyn Braly in 2009. Tom Braly died age the age of 72 in September of last year after a long battle with cancer.

“Evening Jewel kept my husband alive longer than he was expected to live,” said Marilyn Braly, who attended the awards dinner with her daughter Marianne Braly.

And on Tuesday, Evening Jewel helped make it a jewel of an evening for Cassidy.