Trainer John Toscano Jr. died April 3 in a Long Island, N.Y., hospital, according to Daily Racing Form. He was 80.
The horseman, a winner of 428 races in a career dating back to 1979, was a fixture of the New York Racing Association circuit for decades, winning the Bold Ruler Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack in 2022 and 2024 with the Karen Zimmerman's Runninsonofagun, a successful claim.
The trainer also captured the 2004 Lane's End Stakes (G2), now known as the Jeff Ruby Steaks, at Turfway Park with Sinister G. The front-running winner was ridden by his son, Paul, and co-owned by another son, John Toscano III, along with family friends Kim Corrado and Yamile Carlat.
READ: Sinister G Scores Wicked Lane's End Upset
Toscano continued to train late in life. In explaining his continued involvement, he told The Real Players Inside the Backstretch in 2023, "What am I going to do? Where else am I gonna go? I'm hanging in."
In total, Toscano's horses made more than $18.3 million from 4,381 starts.
Paul and Toscano III would be involved in their father's stable through the years, and another son, Robert, also participated as an owner. Daily Racing Form reported that Toscano is also survived by a daughter, Carolyn, and had a companion, Grace Sola, for 25 years after being predeceased by his wife, Frances.
Visitation is from 3-8 p.m. ET April 7 at Park Funeral Chapels in Garden City Park, N.Y. A funeral mass follows the next day at St. Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church in Franklin Square.
