"Buff" Bradley grew up watching Clarence Picou and Robert Connelly train Thoroughbreds for his dad, former Kentucky state senator Fred Bradley, and by age 10 was galloping, breaking, and training horses. Taking night classes, he earned a degree in business management from Kentucky State University in 1989 and then spent a year with his dad’s reelection campaign. He next worked for Picou, overseeing strings at Oaklawn, Louisiana Downs, and Remington Park.

Returning to Kentucky, Bradley opened his own stable in 1993 and guided his first client, John Franks, to the Eclipse Award as 1994's top owner. He scouts sales and has advised such buys as stakes-placed Big Deal, who sold for $8,000 and won nearly $100,000. Bradley also runs the family's breeding operation, attending every foaling.

Through August 2009 Bradley has seven Turfway stakes with such standouts as Ella Belle, Timeless Love, and his comeback kid and veteran stable star, Brass Hat.

Brass Hat broke his maiden at three in the 2004 Rushaway, reeled off two G2 wins, and then was out 13 months with an ankle fracture. Starting with his second race back, he won three straight stakes, including the 2005 Donn (G1). After a second fracture sidelined him another year, Brass Hat returned in July 2007 to win a Churchill allowance in track-record time and followed two months later with a win in the Mass Cap. He hit the board in three of his next four starts, and Bradley gave him eight months off. He returned as an 8-year-old in February 2009, was third in the Elkhorn (G2) in his third start back, and next won the G3 Louisville Handicap, his first grass win in eight tries. A third-place finish in the 2009 United Nations was next.

Bradley has more than 280 career wins and more than $7.5 million in purse earnings. Among his 14 stakes wins are five graded events, all with Brass Hat.

Website: Bradley Racing Stable

Bill Connelly grew up among racehorses, learning the business from his father, trainer Robert Connelly. When Bill was 13, the family moved to Kentucky from Texas to focus on the Kentucky circuit.

Connelly worked primarily for his father before opening his own stable in 1980. He hit the 1,000-win milestone on July 17, 2009, at Ellis Park, a total that includes 24 career blacktype scores. Among his stakes wins are the 1994 My Charmer and the 1995 Likely Exchange at Turfway. Through mid-July 2009 his trainees had earned $12.4 million in purses.

Notable among Connelly's recent trainees are Patchen Prince and The White Fox, both bred and raced by Patchen Wilkes Farm and registered as white Thoroughbreds by The Jockey Club.

Being struck by a car at age 6 might be the seminal moment of Jeff Greenhill's life, though more than 30 years passed before the incident made its full impact.

The car struck Greenhill as he was rushing to see a neighbor's newborn calf. Though not cited, the driver was concerned and stayed in touch, and after Greenhill recovered the man took him horseback riding. Always animal-crazy, Greenhill wasn't permitted to own a horse as a youngster, but once on his own he bought several Quarter Horses and eventually dabbled in team roping. But as a friend pointed out, trophies and ribbons don't add up to a living. Greenhill turned his attention to Thoroughbreds.

At the time, Greenhill was already earning a substantial living as a chemical engineer. After graduating from Auburn University in 1979 he had joined the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as a field engineer. By August 1988 he was a department manager overseeing 50 workers and a $20 million budget.

On the side he got involved in pinhooking, buying two or three weanlings at the November sales and turning them around the following September. In 1992, walking around Keeneland with Ben Walden Sr., he ventured that he'd like to try training. Instead of the laugh Greenhill expected, the old hardboot said, "Well, if you're going to do it, you’d better get started."

So in April 1994, at age 38, Greenhill took an early retirement package from TVA, moved with his wife to Kentucky, and started walking hots for D. Wayne Lukas.

"I figured I could pass the trainer's test if I studied, but I wanted to know all the work that goes into it," Greenhill said. After 17 days as a hotwalker, he moved to rubbing horses for Pete Vestal, staying about seven months. In December 1994 he started grooming for Donnie Habeeb. One of his assignments was a filly he also owned, Blondeintheshower, and in a Turfway allowance race in January 1995 she gave Greenhill his first win as an owner.

Greenhill opened his own stable in March 1996 and promptly earned his first win. His first stakes win came with Snappy Little Tune in the 1997 Peony Stakes at Hoosier Park. Racing primarily in the Midwest, through mid-July 2009 his stable has collected nearly 250 wins, including six stakes, and purse earnings of $3.3 million.

In answer to the obvious question — why exchange a secure and profitable career for the vagaries of Thoroughbred racing? — Greenhill has a ready answer.

"There's no winner's circle in chemical engineering. In this game you know you're alive. It might be going great or you might be hurting, but at least you know you're alive. You never know if that next horse might be the one that makes the cover of the Racing Form."

Website: Greenhill Racing

Larry Holt grew up riding horses, including some his uncle raced on the fair circuit. He had ambitions to become a jockey—Eddie Arcaro and Willie Shoemaker were his heroes—but he literally outgrew that dream and in 1972 took out his trainer's license. He never worked for anyone else but instead added a horse here and there on his own, starting with his uncle's string. His first win came in 1973 with a horse owned by his father-in-law. He earned his first stakes with Cattle Kate in the 1976 Banquet Bell Stakes at Thistledown. Among Holt's top horses have been Lackadaisical Lady, a filly that earned more than $100,000 "the hard way," and the stakes-winning filly Demitryst.

Today Holt maintains a mostly public stable and races primarily in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. He operates his own training center, Holt Stables in Russell County, Kentucky, where he also breaks his own and clients' yearlings.

As proud as he is of his horses, Holt is equally proud of his assistants who have gone on to successful careers of their own, including Joe Cain, Vince White, and Kevin Fletcher.

Through mid-July 2009 Holt counted more than 600 career wins including three stakes and $4.9 million in purse earnings.

Mike Maker first learned the art and science of training from his father, George Maker, who trained at Detroit Race Course and Hazel Park in Michigan. He bought his first horse at age 13 with money he earned walking hots for his dad and delivering newspapers, and the horse won the first time he raced. The younger Maker eventually was his dad's assistant before going out on his own in 1991.

In 1993 Maker landed a job with trainer D. Wayne Lukas, working with the stable's string at Churchill Downs under Dallas Stewart, then an assistant to Lukas. When Stewart went out on his own in 1997, Maker took over as head of the Louisville operation. He left the Lukas stable in 2003 to again open his own stable.

Maker's first "big horse" was Freefourinternet, who won the Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) in 2004 and competed in the Breeders' Cup Classic that year. Other stable standouts include 2007-08 multiple stakes winner Cherokee Triangle, 2009 Churchill Downs Stakes (G2) winner Accredit, and 2009 classic contender Jack Spratt.

The 2008-09 racing season has been a breakout year for Maker. During the period he swept all three meets that comprise Turfway's racing year, giving him four consecutive leading trainer titles at the track. In the fall of 2008 he earned his first Keeneland title and amassed 31 wins at Churchill Downs to not only earn his first title there but also break the fall meet record, crushing the previous mark of 20. His success has been powered in part by the prolific stable of Ken and Sarah Ramsey, his primary clients.

From August 2008 to mid-July 2009, Maker earned 10 blacktype wins to bring his career total to 23. Among that total are his first graded stakes win, the 2006 Lane's End (G2) with With a City, and six other Turfway stakes, most recently the 2009 Queen with Just for Keeps. Through mid-July 2009 he counts nearly 450 career wins and purse earnings of more than $10.3 million.

Website: Mike Maker Racing Stables

After graduating from high school, Steve Margolis went to work rubbing horses at Belmont Park for eventual Hall of Fame trainer John Veitch. He later worked for trainers Pat Byrne and Howie Tesher before joining forces with Stanley Hough in the 1990s. Margolia came to Kentucky in 1997 as Hough's assistant and opened his own stable in the fall of 2000.

When Hough's principal owners at the time, Robert and Bea Roberts, began dispersing their stable in 2000, they sent some of their stock to Margolis. Among those new arrivals in 2001 was Request for Parole, who won the Ellis Park Juvenile and the WEBN Stakes and John Battaglia Memorial, the latter two at Turfway, before finishing second in the 2002 Lane's End (G2), also at Turfway. The colt then went on to finish fifth in the Kentucky Derby. Request for Parole was trained by Margolis as a 2- and 3-year-old and returned to his stable as a 7-year-old before retiring to stud at 8.

Margolis won his first graded stakes in 2003, saddling Baileys Edge to win the Mr. Prospector Handicap (G3) at Gulfstream Park. The same year brought Margolis his first Grade I win, the Breeders' Cup Sprint with 22-1 Cajun Beat, who prepped for the championships by winning the Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3) at Turfway. In 2004 Cajun Beat gave Margolis his second straight Mr. Prospector win, and from 2007 through mid-2009 the trainer added stakes wins with Key to the Cat, Marina Ballerina, A Little Gem, Vote Early, True Course, and Lady Chace.

Through mid-July 2009 Margolis has more than 250 wins and career purse earnings of nearly $8 million. Among his 14 stakes wins are four graded events.

Based at Turfway, Wayne Mogge has been among the track's leading trainers for six of the past seven years. He has one training title at Turfway, finishing in a three-way tie in the 2004 Holiday Meet.

Mogge learned the ways of Thoroughbreds as a child by working with his dad, a farm manager for 30 years. He grew up in Paris, Kentucky, and trained and ran Quarter Horses as a teenager. Although he hadn't pinned down his career choice when he enrolled at the University of Kentucky—racing writer and farm manager were on the list—he knew he would be working with horses. His degree in agriculture, earned in 1989, covered a wide range of subjects to take him in that direction.

While many trainers start out working for someone else, Mogge opened his stable with a few of his own horses as soon as he made the decision to train. He gained his first client in 1990. He still runs a few of his own but now trains primarily for clients. Among memorable charges was Truley Molly, a two-stakes winner named for his wife.

Mogge reeled off six stakes wins in 2005 with Kaylan's Rose, Bryceslittlesecret, and Tommy Panache. Tommy Panache also has the distinction of winning one of three unofficial exhibition races on Polytrack on August 24, 2005, the first time Turfway's new surface was used for racing. Mogge returned to winning stakes in 2009 with Tacky Cat and Proud Heiress, who respectively won the Cincinnati Trophy and Wishing Well at Turfway.

Through mid-July 2009, Mogge has more than 340 wins, including 10 stakes, and nearly $4.9 million in purse earnings.

David Pate earned his insights into training from a lifetime of working with horses, from workhorses on his family's 36,000-acre Georgia farm to racehorses he rode as a jockey.

Pate left the family farm at 19 to join his older brother at Ocala Stud in Florida, when the now-thriving racing center had just a few operations. He started as a hotwalker but had his eye on riding, and in 1968 at age 25 made his debut as a jockey.

Difficulty maintaining weight limited his career to three or four years but the experience opened the next door. "Once I started riding, I knew I wanted to train," he said. "I learned something from every trainer I ever rode for." Pate credits that time with giving him insight into what can happen to horses during a race. "I'm not so quick to blame the jockey when things don't go right," he said.

In 1972 Pate opened a small training stable at Tampa, eventually moving to Latonia. He closed the stable after about six years and signed on as assistant trainer with Marvin Moncrief in Maryland. The time with Moncrief's 50-horse stable and the chance to make industry connections gave Pate the foundation he needed, and in 1988 he returned to Florida to open a stable with about 25 horses. Looking for options to suit the varying talents in his barn, he moved to the Ohio/Kentucky circuits, where he was leading trainer at River Downs in his first meet and a regular at Churchill Downs and Latonia, now Turfway Park.

Pate is a staunch fan of Polytrack and is based year-round at Turfway. He selects horses and trains primarily for James Skaggs's Spade Stable. He also trains horses he buys for his wife, Peggy, whose horsemanship he calls equal to his own. Pate describes his operation as a family-run business and proudly notes that three of his employees have been with him for 20 years.

Among Pate's memorable horses is his first stakes winner, Lawful Beat, a filly he bought with a partner for $4,700 and later sold for $125,000. Among his six stakes wins are two at Turfway, the 2003 Valdale with Unbridled Femme and the 2008 Queen with Pola's Place. He earned his first graded stakes win with Deputy G in the 2005 Bashford Manor (G3). Through mid-July 2009, Pate had more than 500 career wins and $4.8 million in purse earnings.

Burton Sipp got his start in racing in the barns of such tracks as Belmont Park and Jamaica Racetrack, where his father, George Sipp Sr., was a trainer. The elder Sipp had worked as a groom for Ben Jones and "Sunny" Jim Fitzsimmons before taking out his own trainer's license. Burton's first job, at age three or four, was to feed the barn cats.

The younger Sipp took out his own trainer's license at age 22 and saddled his first starter at Monmouth Park. Consistent success began when he started racing as a private stable at Pocono Downs in Pennsylvania. He migrated to New England, where he built a strong stable of claiming horses and enjoyed steady success over 15 to 20 years. As purses declined in New England, he began following an East Coast circuit at such tracks as Liberty Bell, Keystone (now Philadelphia Park), and Atlantic City. At virtually every stop he earned leading trainer titles or contended for the honor. In 1981 he was the country's second-leading trainer by wins behind Dale Baird.

Sipp was out of racing about 10 years beginning in 1984, and during that time opened Animal Kingdom, a 32-acre exotic-animal zoo in Springfield, New Jersey, and a successful pet store. He returned to racing briefly in 1994, again sat out, and eventually, beginning in 2004, was back training at Suffolk Downs. When Suffolk cut dates he moved to Thistledown to take advantage of its long season, spending winters at various tracks including Golden Gate and Turf Paradise. The 2008-09 winter season at Turfway was his first foray into Kentucky. He finished second by wins in the 2009 winter/spring meet.

According to Equineline, a division of The Jockey Club and part of racing's official database, Sipp has more than 1,600 wins and earnings of nearly $9.5 million since 1976, when the database was established. Sipp notes that he has nearly 3,000 wins since his career began in 1966.

Joe Woodard grew up in Louisville and started his career in racing walking hots at Churchill Downs while still in high school. After graduation he continued his education at the University of Louisville, studying Criminal Justice, and together he and a few friends purchased some claiming horses. In 1992 he took out his trainer's license, training during the day while working in law enforcement at night. In 1993 he began training for other clients as well.

Woodard's career expanded in 1997 when he was hired as the private trainer for Louisville auto dealer Billy Hays, whose interest lay in claiming horses with room for improvement. The highly successful relationship continues, although in 2004 Woodard opened his stable to include horses from other owners.

Woodard has five leading trainer titles from River Downs, most recently for the 2009 spring meet. He finished second at Turfway across all three race meets in 2002 and was third in the 2009 Winter/Spring Meet.

In 2005, Woodard won a record 10 consecutive races at Churchill Downs, shattering the old track mark of six. Most of the winners were owned by Hays.

Among recent Woodard standouts is Blue Cherries Spin, who through mid-July 2009 led all horses nationally with seven wins from 11 starts on the year. Owned by Hays, the gelding also boasted a 91 percent in-the-money performance for the year to that point.

Racing primarily in the Midwest, through mid-July 2009 Woodard had nearly 500 wins including five stakes and purse earnings of $5.8 million. Two of his stakes, the 2001 Marfa and the 2002 Cincinnati Trophy, came at Turfway, both for Hays.

Woodard lives in Louisville with his six-year-daughter, Caitlin, and 13-year-old son, Austin.

Website: Woodard Racing Stables