In Memoriam
Barry Abrams
I
1954-2020
It was cruel irony that Abrams died Oct. 9, just two days before the Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship. Abrams missed out on experiencing the championship, the racing industry was deprived of a true friend, and California lost a trainer who developed many California-breds into stakes winners. While Abrams trained such top runners as 1997 Del Mar Oaks (G1T) winner Famous Digger, he was especially good with Barry Abrams was one of the good guys in California’s Thoroughbred racing scene Unusual Heat’s ofspring. Te Abrams family of Barry, wife Dyan, and brother David collaborated with father), Andy Hillas’ Team Green, Russell Wolkof, and himself the mother and son team of Madeline and Harris Auerbach to and brother David. breed and race a host of Unusual Heat babies. When Unusual Heat’s foals started running, the Auerbachs “He loved the horses, and he was symbiotic with them,” said and the Abrams were often involved. Abrams trained the likes Madeline Auerbach. “It was almost like he could climb inside of millionaire and grade 1 winner Unusual Suspect, Las Virgenes their brains and fgure out what it was they wanted to do and Stakes (G1) winner Golden Doc A, Cal-bred champion Lethal what they needed for him to calm them down. He was a master Heat, and stakes winner Lakerville. at it. He was a virtuoso of the horse.” In the name of Bardy Farm, Barry and Dyan bred Mo ForAbrams died at age 66 in Pasadena, Calif., of respiratory failure za, a son of Uncle Mo out of the Unusual Heat mare Infamed, after a long battle with throat cancer. He was born in Minsk, and campaigned him with OG Boss. Trained by Peter Miller, Mo Russia, in 1954 and lived in Poland and Israel before he and his Forza has earned $734,460 and won fve graded stakes, including family moved to Burbank in 1963. Abrams studied business at the Oct. 3 City of Hope Mile Stakes (G2T). California State Los Angeles while grooming Standardbreds in “He loved his family, his horses, and life,” said Harris Auerthe mornings. He trained harness horses from 1978-87, his best bach. “He was the best of friends to many and would give the horse being multi-millionaire Guts. shirt of his back to anyone who asked.” Following Roger Stein to Toroughbreds, Abrams worked as Many of Abrams’ friends made up the group that, before an assistant to Stein before going out on his own in 1993. Ulti- COVID-19, met every day at Santa Anita’s Clockers’ Corner. mately, he won 668 Toroughbred races for purse earnings of Trainers Henry Moreno, Gary Sherlock, and Mel and Warren more than $30 million. Stute are already gone, but the stories all of them told will Abrams in a March 2018 article in this magazine explained linger. Abrams was especially good with all manner of racing how he came to claim Unusual Heat for $80,000. He had fol- statistics. lowed Danish and Swedish champion mare Rossard, winner of “He taught me a lot about horses and the business of racthe 1984 Flower Bowl Handicap (G1T) at Belmont Park. ing,” said Harris Auerbach. “He was a larger-than-life, Damon “I saw her beat the best older mares in the United States, and, Runyonesque fgure. I cannot throw enough superlatives his needless to say, she impressed me,” Abrams said. way.” He watched for Rossard’s foals, coming upon Unusual Heat, In addition to his wife of 38 years and his brother, Abrams is a son of Nureyev out of the mare. In 1996 Abrams claimed Un- survived by daughters Anna Marie and Natalie, granddaughters usual Heat for James Auerbach (Madeline’s husband and Harris’ Stella and Rose, and nephews Andrew and Aaron. 14
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED ❙ November 2020 ❙ www.ctba.com
© BENOIT PHOTO
n a city full of passionate Los Angeles Lakers fans, Barry Abrams stood out. He loved his Lakers so much that he named a homebred Lakerville, ftting for a son of Unusual Heat, the stallion Abrams helped turn into a phenomenal California sire.
