Trainer Kenny Nettles Dies After Battle With Cancer

Longtime California trainer Kenny Nettles died Dec. 3 after a battle with cancer, according to his friend Scott Craigmyle, who works in the Los Alamitos Race Course racing office. Nettles was 80.

Nettles never had an abundance of horses but was a well-liked horsemen, and those who knew him said he still had a positive attitude even in the late stages of his illness.

"He was a character and a good man," said Craigmyle, 61, who galloped horses for Nettles when he was a teenager.

Nettles' best season in recent years came in 2012, when he earned $194,738 in purses.

"He was one of my best friends for 15 years. He was exceptionally knowledgeable and I learned a lot from him," said trainer Vladimir Cerin. "He was a good an honest person. Kenny was a really good guy."

Angie Carmona, deputy director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, said the organization's records indicate Nettles began training in 1974.

"He was just a really nice, friendly man," Carmona said. "He had lots of opinions and loved to share them, but he was very kind. I'm very saddened to know that he's gone. He was a good man, a good trainer, and loved the business."