Retired coach Peter Howe, one of only four to coach an American champion in jumps and inflats, and father of Colonial Downs, Racing Vice President Jill Byrne, passed away Thursday night in Charlottesville, Va. He is 83 years old.
Howe was born in Hartford, Conn., and became an accomplished jockey in horse races – competing at Madison Square Garden, the Washington International Horse Show and other top venues – before turning to horse racing.
Training primarily for Marion du Pont Scott’s Montpelier Stables – based in Belmont Park and Saratoga Racecourse or private training facilities in Virginia and Camden, SC depending on the season – Howe adapts a small stable but quality.
Soothsayer won the Eclipse Award as a bell-climbing champion in 1972, and in 1976, Howe trained Montpelier’s Proud Delta to win the older mare/horse division championship.
Soothsayer and Proud Delta made Howe a rare teammate – with Jonathan Sheppard, Sidney Watters Jr. and Jim Ryan – were the only coaches to prepare the American champions on the flat field and jump over.
Howe, whose father Walter was an American diplomat and the United States Ambassador to Chile under President Dwight Eisenhower, lived at the Red Horse Ranch near the Montpelier property in Barboursville, Va. Survivors include Byrne (whose previous racing work included positions with Breeders’ Trophy, Churchill Downs and others), son Jeffrey Howe and wife Christy, daughter Debby Howe and grandchildren Devon Byrne, William Vanderlinde and Emma and Owen Howe.
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This story was posted in Top News and tagged Colony Downs, Jill Byrne, obituary, Peter Howe, Delta is proud, Toothbrush man, pass the bell tower.
