Carlos F. Martin
| Carlos F. Martin | |
|---|---|
| Lua error in Module:Wikidata at line 879: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Lua error in Module:Wikidata at line 798: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Occupation | Thoroughbred racehorse trainer |
| Born | May 17, 1969[1][2] Brooklyn, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Career winnings | US$35,075,306 (as of August 13, 2026)[3] |
| Career wins | 815 (ongoing; as of August 13, 2026)[3] |
| Major racing wins | |
| |
| Significant horses | |
| |
Carlos F. Martin (born May 17, 1969) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose career has been based principally on the New York racing circuit.[4][5] A third-generation trainer, he is the son of trainer Jose A. Martin and the grandson of Hall of Fame trainer Frank "Pancho" Martin.[4]
Martin began training in 1989. Two years later, Buy the Firm gave him his first Grade I victory in the Top Flight Handicap, and with it he became the youngest trainer to win at the top level in New York.[5][6] His other best-known trainee, Come Dancing, won five graded stakes, including the 2019 Grade I Ballerina Stakes, and earned more than $1.2 million.[7] As of August 13, 2026, he had won 815 races from 6,366 starts and earned more than $35 million in purses.[3]
Early life and family
Martin was born in Brooklyn on May 17, 1969.[1][2][3] His father, Jose, trained three Eclipse Award champions: Lakeville Miss, Wayward Lass, and sprinter Groovy. His grandfather, Pancho, trained such horses as Sham, Autobiography, and Outstandingly and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1981.[4]
Martin grew up around his father's stable and later said that watching his father work with successful horses drew him toward training.[8] At age 18, he accompanied Groovy to California for the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint. Martin received his own trainer's license at age 19.[8][4]
Training career
Early career and Buy the Firm
Martin began training in 1989 and recorded his first victory with No Fear at Aqueduct Racetrack.[5] His first stakes victory came at Laurel Park in March 1990, when Stacie's Toy won the Genuine Risk Stakes by four lengths.[9] During his first full season, the filly also won the Pimlico Oaks.[2][7]
Buy the Firm became Martin's first multiple graded-stakes winner. The mare won the Grade II Long Look Handicap and Grade III Carousel Handicap in 1990, followed in 1991 by the Grade III Next Move Breeders' Cup Handicap and Grade I Top Flight Handicap.[10] The Top Flight victory came shortly before Martin's 22nd birthday and made him, according to NYRA, the youngest trainer to that point to win a top-level race in New York.[6] Rousing Past added another graded victory for the stable in the 1991 Grade III Bold Ruler Stakes.[10]
New York circuit and Flying Zee Stables
Martin continued to operate mainly in New York, with much of his stable participating in the state's program for New York-bred horses.[4] His graded winners during the next decade included Thunder Achiever in the 1996 Grade II First Flight Handicap, Renewed in the 1997 Grade III Lawrence Realization Handicap, and Van Minister in the 2002 Grade III Hill Prince Stakes.[10]
In 2003, Martin won the Grade II Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course with Roar Emotion. He had taken over the filly's training from his father after Jose was diagnosed with lung cancer. Roar Emotion led throughout the rain-soaked race and defeated Fircroft by half a length; Jose attended, and Carlos dedicated the victory to him.[11]
One of Martin's principal clients for many years was Carl Lizza, whose horses raced as Flying Zee Stables. Martin's stable, which had numbered about 35 horses, contracted after Lizza died in 2011 and at one point fell to five or six horses.[8][4] Martin then approached Marc Holliday, the owner of Blue Devil Racing Stable. Holliday placed horses with Martin and provided a loan that helped keep the operation in business. Their early stakes winners together included Promise Me a Cat, Rogue's Jewel, and Shot Gun Pennie.[8]
Come Dancing
Blue Devil's homebred mare Come Dancing entered Martin's stable in 2016. She won her debut at Aqueduct by 3 1⁄2 lengths, but fractured the pastern in her right foreleg while preparing for her next start. The injury required surgery and kept her away from racing for 13 months. She returned in December 2017 with a 6 1⁄2-length allowance victory.[8][4] In 2018, Come Dancing won the non-graded Royal Delta Stakes by 6 1⁄4 lengths and finished second by a neck in the Grade III Go for Wand Handicap.[12]
Come Dancing developed into a leading female sprinter in 2019. She began the season with a 7 3⁄4-length victory in the Grade III Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct and then won the Grade II Ruffian Stakes at Belmont Park by 6 3⁄4 lengths. After finishing second to Midnight Bisou in the Grade I Ogden Phipps Stakes, she dropped back in distance and won the Grade I Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga Race Course by 3 1⁄2 lengths.[6][4] The Ballerina was Martin's second Grade I victory, his first since the 1991 Top Flight, his 12th graded-stakes win, and his first graded win at Saratoga.[13]
Come Dancing next won the Grade II Gallant Bloom Handicap by 3 1⁄4 lengths, becoming a millionaire.[14] Her entry in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint gave Martin his first Breeders' Cup starter.[15] In 2020, she added the Grade II Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga, rallying to win by three-quarters of a length.[16] She retired after the 2020 Breeders' Cup with five graded-stakes victories and more than $1.2 million in career earnings.[7]
Later career
Martin also trained Piedi Bianchi to win the 2020 Correction Stakes at Aqueduct and finish third behind Monomoy Girl in that year's Grade II Ruffian. The mare returned to his stable in 2021 after racing under other trainers outside New York.[17]
In November 2025, Martin won the Listed Pulpit Stakes at Gulfstream Park with the two-year-old Glorious Boy. Glorious Boy and Bronze Bullet initially finished in a dead heat, but the stewards placed Bronze Bullet second for interference and declared Glorious Boy the sole winner.[18]
Martin remained active on the New York circuit through the end of racing at Aqueduct in June 2026. The track had been the site of both his first career win, with No Fear in 1989, and his first Grade I win, with Buy the Firm in 1991.[5]
Graded stakes wins
Equibase lists the following 14 graded-stakes victories for Martin:[10]
| Year | Race | Grade | Horse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Long Look Handicap | II | Buy the Firm |
| 1990 | Carousel Handicap | III | Buy the Firm |
| 1991 | Next Move Breeders' Cup Handicap | III | Buy the Firm |
| 1991 | Top Flight Handicap | I | Buy the Firm |
| 1991 | Bold Ruler Stakes | III | Rousing Past |
| 1996 | First Flight Handicap | II | Thunder Achiever |
| 1997 | Lawrence Realization Handicap | III | Renewed |
| 2002 | Hill Prince Stakes | III | Van Minister |
| 2003 | Black-Eyed Susan Stakes | II | Roar Emotion |
| 2019 | Distaff Handicap | III | Come Dancing |
| 2019 | Ruffian Stakes | II | Come Dancing |
| 2019 | Ballerina Stakes | I | Come Dancing |
| 2019 | Gallant Bloom Handicap | II | Come Dancing |
| 2020 | Honorable Miss Handicap | II | Come Dancing |
Career statistics
| Starts | Wins | Seconds | Thirds | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,366 | 815 | 875 | 818 | US$35,075,306 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 2024 Media Guide (PDF). New York Racing Association. 2024. p. 73. Retrieved August 13, 2026. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Swenson, John (May 17, 1990). "Carlos Martin wants Black-Eyed Susan as birthday gift". United Press International. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Carlos F. Martin". America's Best Racing. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Hackbarth, Chelsea (September 4, 2019). "Breeders' Cup Presents Connections: Carlos Martin 'Dancing' to Family Tradition". Paulick Report. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Bossinakis, Christina (July 8, 2026). "Remembering Aqueduct, the end of an era". Thoroughbred Daily News. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Come Dancing takes charge to win the G1 Ketel One Ballerina". New York Racing Association. August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Diamond Collector looking to shine in $100,000 Beyond the Wire". Laurel Park. March 18, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Grening, David (October 30, 2019). "Carlos Martin returns to California with a leading Breeders' Cup contender of his own, Come Dancing". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ Perrone, Vinnie (March 12, 1990). "Prado rides five winners to Laurel title". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Trainer profile: Carlos F. Martin". Equibase. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ Grening, David (May 17, 2003). "Roar Emotion wire to wire in wet Black-Eyed Susan". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved August 13, 2026 – via ESPN.
- ↑ Thompson, Najja (March 31, 2019). "Come Dancing ready to make a grand performance in G3 Distaff". New York Racing Association. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ "McGaughey basks in aftermath of Code of Honor's G1 Runhappy Travers win; plans uncertain for allowance winner Performer". New York Racing Association. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ Thompson, Najja (September 22, 2019). "Come Dancing strolls in G2 Gallant Bloom". New York Racing Association. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ Ehalt, Bob (October 30, 2019). "Martin savors first Breeders' Cup experience". BloodHorse. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ Martin, Ryan (September 6, 2020). "Come Dancing gets fifth graded stakes win in G2 Honorable Miss". New York Racing Association. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Prosperous weekend for West Point Thoroughbreds includes promising winners at Belmont Park". New York Racing Association. April 25, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Glorious Boy awarded Pulpit victory following dead heat, DQ". Paulick Report. November 28, 2025. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
External links
This article "Carlos F. Martin" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Carlos F. Martin. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
