Born: March 12, 1944
Birthplace: Springhill, Nova Scotia
Residence: Tampa, FL
Family: Wife Mary; sons Dale and Jerry; daughter Katharine; two grandchildren
Started Training: 1974
First Win: Greenwood, Canada
Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Thistledown Race Course, Mountaineer Park
|
Year
|
Starts
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Earnings
|
W rank
|
W %
|
ITM %
|
|
2008-2009 meet
|
172
|
31
|
36
|
32
|
$422,677
|
4th
|
18.0
|
57.6
|
|
2007-2008 meet
|
126
|
20
|
12
|
14
|
$298,307
|
5th
|
15.9
|
36.5
|
|
2006-2007 meet
|
163
|
31
|
36
|
23
|
$430,216
|
3rd
|
19.1
|
55.2
|
|
2005-2006 meet
|
131
|
19
|
20
|
13
|
$277,267
|
6th
|
15
|
40
|
|
Gerald Bennett Tampa Stakes Wins
|
|
Year
|
Race
|
Winner
|
Jockey
|
Owner
|
|
2008-2009
|
Pelican S.
|
Blind River Fox
|
Willie Martinez
|
Winning Stables & D. Louderback
|
|
2007-2008
|
Sophomore Fillies
|
Moonshine Alice
|
Andrew Ramgeet
|
Kenneth McFarland
|
Gerald Bennett has a reputation for being able to rehabilitate injured racehorses, and that reputation brought him his biggest horse, Beau Genius. Bennett conditioned Beau Genius to victory in thirteen stakes including: The Haskell Invitational (GI), Philip H Iselin Handicap (GI), Deputy Minister Handicap, the Hallandale Handicap, Churchill Downs Handicap and the Olympic Stakes. Among other Bennett trainees are Secret Romeo, winner of the 2002 Super Stakes, Pelican Stakes and second to the excellent sprinter Bonapaw in the $100,000 Arlington Park Sprint Handicap; and Banker’s Jet, winner of seven stakes and over $670,000.
Bennett has been a mainstay in Michigan racing, having dominated the trainer standings at Hazel Park and Detroit Race Course throughout the 1980s, and continues to do the same at Great Lakes Downs. Gerald Bennett conditioned the filly Down From Heaven to 9 straight wins at Detroit Race Course from 1988 through 1989 after claiming her for $5000. He was leading trainer in 2005 at Great Lakes Downs with 86 wins and 50% of his entries finished in the money; among his many accomplishments, Bennett has won five races in one day. Adding to his talents, Bennett also trained and rehabbed Standardbreds in Ontario, Canada. Gerald Bennett ended the 2006-2007 Tampa Bay Downs meet as the third leading trainer with 31 wins from 163 starts; on May 5, 2007, Bennett escorted his trainee Buckey’s Prayer to the winner’s circle after her victory in the Lightning City Stakes. In 2008, he conditioned Moonshine Alice to victory in the $85,000 Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies Stakes on Florida Cup Day; and in the 2008-2009 season, Bennet conditioned Blind River Fox to victory in the Pelican Stakes after claiming the gelding over the summer.