Born: October 20, 1961
Birthplace: Gallatin, TN
Residence: Ocala, FL
Family: Wife Jolane
Started Training: 1983
First Win: Evening Prospect in Birmingham, AL
Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Canterbury Park, Ellis Park
|
Year
|
Starts
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Earnings
|
W rank
|
W %
|
ITM %
|
|
2007-2008 meet
|
74
|
13
|
8
|
11
|
$109,563
|
17th (Tie)
|
17.6
|
43.2
|
|
2006-2007 meet
|
85
|
13
|
8
|
7
|
$120,980
|
16th
|
15.3
|
32.9
|
|
2005-2006 meet
|
110
|
10
|
18
|
11
|
Info pending
|
18th
|
9.1
|
35.5
|
Joe McAlister, who was tied as the seventeenth leading trainer at the 2007-2008 Tampa Bay Downs meet, has risen to the top of the local trainer standings at the Oldsmar oval quickly despite the fact that he has only been training here for three years. The Gallatin, Tennessee native is well known on the backstretch for his training ability, his sense of humor and his red boots. McAlister got his start in the horse racing industry after a ten-year career as a professional bull rider. “It started to hurt too badly when I hit the ground. I heard that Carl Nafzger (Grade III Tampa Bay Derby winner Street Sense’s trainer) got his start bull riding. If it worked for him, I thought it could work for me!”
McAlister originally trained Quarter Horses, but found his passion in Thoroughbred racing. His first Thoroughbred winner was Evening Prospect in Birmingham, Alabama. Since then, McAlister has had much success at tracks around the country; his current circuit includes CanterburyPark in Minnesota, Ellis Park in Kentucky, and Tampa Bay Downs.
Additionally, McAlister and his wife have a horse farm in Ocala, Florida, where they breed mares, foal them, work with yearlings, provide early training for young horses as well as prepare horses for sales. Although McAlister does not have a lot of spare time, he says that he likes to golf when he can – “It doesn’t matter where!”