Albert M. Stall, Jr.
Though he has had only one previous Preakness starter, Grade 3 winner Terrain, who was seventh in 2007, the New Orleans born and bred horseman is no stranger to Pimlico, having won the Grade 3 William Donald Schaefer Memorial with Blame in 2010 and Apart in 2011.
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in geology from Louisiana State University, Stall, 51, saddled Blame to an upset victory over Zenyatta in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the super mare’s final career start. Zenyatta would go on to be named Horse of the Year, while Blame was voted older male champion.
Under Stall’s care, Blame won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga, the Grade 1 Stephen Foster and Grade 2 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs and the Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland, also running second in the Grade 2 Super Derby and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Stall was also the trainer of Star Guitar, a three-time Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year who won 24 of 30 lifetime starts and 17 stakes races since 2007. He ended his career last fall on a 10-race win streak, not having lost since finishing fourth in the 2010 Gold Cup Stakes at Delta Downs.
In 1991, Stall opened a public stable with one horse at Arlington Park, picking up his first winner in August of that year with $25,000 claimer Scottish Fantasy, a horse owned by his father. He has gone on to win two training titles at Fair Grounds, his hometown track, and became trainer for Claiborne Farm upon the retirement of Frank Brothers in 2007.
Stall’s father, Albert, is a member of the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame and was chairman of the Louisiana Racing Commission before retiring in 2004 after 28 years.
