Jackson, Trainer of Mr. Right, Dies at 88

A horse trainer, pilot, ski instructor, and dive boat captain, Evan S. Jackson was truly a man with a penchant for life and adventure. The former grade 1-winning trainer died of natural causes at age 88 Jan. 7 at his residence in Key Largo, Fla, according to his family.

Jackson is survived by his three children, Evan "Judge" Jr., Kelle, and Tara. He also has six grandchildren.

The son of Mary Shipman, who was one of the first women to bid on yearlings at sales in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., according to Kelle Jackson, Evan Jackson was born into the Thoroughbred world. He was named after his uncle, renowned Daily Racing Form turf writer Evan Shipman.

Jackson began his career as a steeplechase rider in the 1950s, becoming one of the elite jump jockeys that decade before transitioning to the flat. In the 1960s, he picked up training, which he would do for the next forty years. He left training in 1994 before having a handful of starters in the years 2005-06 and 2009.

"My dad was what I would call the quintessential horseman," said Kelle Jackson. "He knew his horses and he trained accordingly. He was a horseman. For him, it was more about the horse and the right spot and right way for the horse as opposed to the business the industry has turned into now—which is basically why he left racing in the early 90s. He didn't like what he saw going on in the industry. He was a very principled man."

Jackson trained for years in New York before his runner Mr. Right, owned by Mrs. Peter Duchin, took his career to new heights when landing the 1968 Woodward Stakes over Hall of Famer Damascus in a tenacious stretch battle. The durable Mr. Right, a winner of 17 of 63 career starts, including nine stakes victories, became the first New York-bred to win a $100,000 stakes race when he captured the 1968 Santa Anita Handicap. He earned $667,193.

After Mr. Right, Jackson headed west, where trained for names like Danny Schwartz and Frank Sinatra. He remained in California for 10 years before coming back to train in New York until his retirement from racing. According to Equibase, which has incomplete records before 1976, Jackson's runners bankrolled $2,466,143 from 1976 to 2009. Among his other top performers were grade 1 victors Winds of Thought and Roussard (DEN).

In the mid-1990s, Jackson moved to New Mexico, where he was employed at a ski resort before finally settling in the Florida Keys for the remaining 22 years of his life. There he worked as both a dive boat captain and as a pilot at the Ocean Reef Airport.

"He was very active," said Kelle Jackson. "An idle body did not go well with him."

Jackson's body was cremated and his wishes were for his ashes to be spread on the Keswick, Va., farm on which he grew up.

"We are going to make arrangements for a memorial up there to spread his ashes but probably not until the spring due to weather and wanting to let everyone who might be interested in coming know. Between my sister, myself, and my brother, it's an effort that we can do this so that everyone can be there," said Kelle Jackson.