Andrew J. Joyner

Biography

As a teenager, Andrew J. "Jack" Joyner was working in a post office near his hometown in North Carolina when the famous trainer William Burch walked in one day. Burch noticed a series of racing pictures on the wall and struck up a conversation with the young Joyner. Impressed by Joyner’s passion for the sport, Burch gave him a job with his racing stable.

After learning the ropes under Burch, Joyner spent some time as a jockey before establishing himself as a head trainer. He saddled his first winner, Rosiere, at Saratoga, on Aug. 26, 1884, and was still associated with the sport when he died 59 years later.

Joyner had a breakthrough in 1905 when he sent out Cairngorm to win the Preakness Stakes for owner Sydney Paget. It was around this time that Joyner began working for some of the most prominent owners in the sport, including James Ben Ali Haggin and Harry Payne Whitney.

In 1908, Joyner was the leading trainer in America with 71 wins. He also won the Preakness for the second time that year with the Whitney-owned Royal Tourist.

When racing was shut down because of the Executive Liability Act, Joyner went to England, where he trained several horses for Whitney and August Belmont II. Joyner trained in England from 1909 through 1915, winning numerous races, including the Ayr Gold Cup, Workingham Handicap, Middle Park Plate, Trial Stakes, Windsor Castle Stakes, Newmarket Select Stakes, Victoria Cup Handicap, and Challenge Stakes.

In England, Joyner trained Hall of Fame member Whisk Broom II for Whitney. A son of Broomstick out of the Ben Brush mare Audience, Whisk Broom II won seven races for Joyner in England, including the Victoria Cup Handicap in 1912. When the Hart-Agnew legislation was repealed, Whisk Broom II returned to the United States to win the Metropolitan, Brooklyn, and Suburban handicaps in 1913, but in America he was trained by James Rowe, Sr., as Joyner stayed in England.

Joyner finally returned to the United States in the fall of 1915. He began working for George D. Widener, Jr., for whom he saddled numerous stakes winners. Joyner eventually transitioned into a stable manager role with Widener’s Erdenheim Farm, helping out Hall of Famer Bert Mulholland, who became Widener’s primary trainer. He aided Mulholland in the development of several standouts, including Hall of Famer Eight Thirty, who won the Travers, as well as the Whitney, Saratoga, Massachusetts, Suburban, and Metropolitan handicaps.

Joyner trained five horses later recognized as retrospective champions: Ethelbert (champions 3-year-old colt, 1899), Waterboy (champion older male, 1903), Hamburg Belle (champion 2-year-old filly, 1903), St. James (champion 2-year-old colt, 1923), and Jamestown (champion 2-year-old colt, 1930).

Achievements

North America's leading trainer in wins — 1908

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the 1905 Preakness Stakes — Cairngorm
Won the 1908 Preakness Stakes — Royal Tourist

Other Highlights

Won the Metropolitan Handicap — 1900, 1919, 1930
Won the Futurity Stakes — 1903, 1923, 1930
Won the Lawrence Realization — 1899, 1908
Won the Manhattan Handicap — 1907, 1908
Won the Flash Stakes — 1907, 1930
Won the Sanford Stakes — 1923, 1929
Won the Saratoga Special — 1923, 1930
Won the United States Hotel Stakes — 1923, 1930
Won the Hopeful Stakes — 1928, 1929
Won the Brighton Cup — 1900
Won the Travers Stakes — 1903
Saratoga Handicap — 1903
Won the Brooklyn Derby — 1905
Won the Coaching Club American Oaks — 1918