Passed Away at Age 80:
Hall of Fame trainer Flint "Scotty" Schulhofer passed away December 14, 2006, in Florida at the age of 80 after a bout with cancer. He is survived by his wife Stephanie, daughters Margaret Rapp and Susan Kleinbub and son Randy, a former trainer. Schulhofer had seven grandchildren: Jordan, Haley and Thomas Rapp, Miranda Steadman, Isabelle Kleinbub and Scott and Evan Schulhofer.
Trainer of Champions:
Schulhofer trained six champions to seven Eclipse Awards, including Lemon Drop Kid, champion older male in 2000. Schulhofer considered Lemon Drop Kid the best horse he ever trained. Fly So Free, Mac Diarmida, Rubiano, Smile and Ta Wee also earned championships under Schulhofer. Colonial Affair won multiple Grade 1 races for Schulhofer, including the 1993 Belmont Stakes when Julie Krone became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race. He also trained the ill-fated Exogenous who died in a freak accident on Breeders' Cup day 2001.
Retired Hall of Famer:
Schulhofer was inducted into the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in 1992. He began his training career in 1962 after riding as a steeplechase jockey from 1950 to 1962. He retired from training in 2001 with 1,119 victories from 7,157 starters. His horses earned purses of $52,245,076.
World War II Veteran:
After working for trainer Oleg Dubassoff, Schulhofer served in World War II where he was an infantry man on the front lines in Germany. He studied pre-med for two years at The Citadel before returning to work for Dubassoff. Schulhofer began training when John Nerud retired from Tartan Farms and he later opened a public stable in 1972.
Regular Rider Jose Santos Comments:
Jockey Jose Santos teamed up with Schulhofer on several champions, including Fly So Free, Lemon Drop Kid and Rubiano. "It definitely hurts," Santos said of Schulhofer's death. "I had a great relationship with Scotty when I came to New York in 1985. He put me on a lot of winners. He had a heart of gold and he was a great horseman. He always spoke the truth and always told you in black and white what was going on. My condolences to his family."
A Lasting Legacy:
Schulhofer had been breeding horses since his retirement and the sixth race at Aqueduct on the day he died was won by Commodore Way, a horse he bred out of a mare, Chloe, that he trained when she was racing.
