Robert Thomas “Tom” Smith (May 20, 1878 – January 23, 1957) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who trained horses for the Rice’s from 1947- 1949. He entered the Rice’s Model Cadet in the 1949 Kentucky Derby. The trip to the Derby was the first of four visits by Dan and Ada Rice to Churchill Downs to try to win the classic race. Model Cadet finished in 7th place and repeated the same performance in the Preakness. The other talented colt Smith trained for the Rice’s was Admiral Lee.
Smith is best known for having trained Seabiscuit in the late 1940s.. Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in theUnited States who became the top money winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He has been noted in numerous films and books. He beat the 1937 Triple-Crown winner, War Admiral, by 4 lengths in a 2-horse special at Pimlico and was voted American Horse of the Year for 1938.
Smith was born in a log cabin in the backwoods of northwest Georgia as a young man he trained horses for the United States Cavalry and worked on a cattle ranch. In 1934, he was hired as a trainer by the wealthy businessman Charles S. Howard. Known as “Silent Tom” because of his quiet nature. He was hired to train for Maine Chance Farm, owned by cosmetics tycoon Elizabeth Arden. Twice he was the U.S. Champion Trainer by “earnings”: first in 1940, and again in 1945.
On November 8, 1945, Smith was suspended from racing for a year by The Jockey Club after being found responsible for administering the stimulant ephedrine via an atomizer to one of his horses. The drug was given to the horse by the stable foreman without Smith’s specific authorization, but under New York racing rules he was held responsible as the horse’s trainer. In his absence, Roy Waldron trained for a time for Maine Chance Farm, winning the Pimlico Futurity with Star Pilot, before Smith’s 36-year-old son, Jimmy, took over for the remainder of the suspension.
When his suspension was over, Smith returned to Maine Chance Farm, where he trained 1947 Kentucky Derby winner Jet Pilot. Smith retired from racing in 1955, having trained 29 graded stakes race winners. He died two years later in Glendale, California, and was buried there in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Sunrise Slope, Lot 6121, Space 4. In 2000, Smith was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and was inducted in 2001. His life’s story was told by author Laura Hillenbrand‘s bestselling 2001 book Seabiscuit: An American Legend
