They say you’re never too old for a good thing—and at age 66, Balmoral Park-based trainer Bob Phillips is reaping the rewards of a lifetime of hard work and dedication. The Crete, IL resident captured his first-ever training title when he was awarded the Balmoral Park crown for 2011.
Phillip captured the title via his 88 winners, 89 runner-ups, and 80 third-place finishers after sending 610 starters postward at Balmoral last year who earned $312,446. Those stats saw the third-generation horseman finish 12 winners ahead of his nearest rival—trainer Nelson Willis.
“My dad sent me to the track with my first horse when I was 5-years-old,” Phillips related. “He put a two-by-four on the crossbar so my feet could reach the stirrups. Both he (Jim Phillips) and my grandfather (Al Phillips) raced and trained horses all over the Midwest.”
The quiet and unassuming conditioner maintains a stable of 30+ horses on the Balmoral backstretch, which includes a healthy combination of both raceway stock and freshman hopefuls.
“I grew up doing everything with horses from day one,” Phillips said. “Dad had my brother and I work the hot walker—before there were engines in those things—we had to sit there and turn the wheel to keep the horses walking. It was boring, and those were the days when horses trained four or five trips and some of those horses didn’t want to walk at all.”
Overall in 2011, Phillips had a 96-102-83 record from 668 starters who earned $350,270, for a UTR of .270.
“When I was 19, my dad was racing in Chicago and I decided to head east, looking for more opportunities,” Phillips recalled. “I raced at Northfield Park in Cleveland and then at Raceway Park in Toledo before heading to Lexington, and Henderson, Kentucky, and then on to Fairmount Park and Quad City Downs.”
When that East Moline facility closed in 1995, Phillips journeyed to Chicago, where he has remained ever since.
“When I was at Quad City, I usually had 40 to 45 horses,” Phillips said. “The number I have at Balmoral now is good, and very manageable. I have a great team, and I mix up my own leg paint that we use on a lot of these old war horses—the raceway horses that race week in and week out—it’s great on hocks and stifles. I have a good-sized paddock at Balmoral where I can turn these old horses out after they race, and give them two days off if they need it.”
While this was Phillips first training title, the multi-talented horseman has previously captured his share of driving titles through the years—at Quad City Downs, Fairmount Park, Cahokia Downs and The Red Mile—steering 481 pari-mutuel winners to the tune of $707,144.
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