Trainer James Cassidy Passes at 80

Cassidy trained California Grade I winners The Usual Q.T, Evening Jewel and Tom’s Tribute. The Usual Q.T., Evening Jewel and multiple stakes-winning Cal-bred Moscow Burning were million-dollar earners.

in 2010, The Usual Q.T. finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and Evening Jewel was third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

That year, Evening Jewel was Cal-bred Horse of the Year, The Usual Q.T. was champion Turf and Older Male Horse and Cassidy was CTBA Trainer of the Year. Moscow Burning also was a Cal-bred Horse of the Year.

Born on Aug. 21, 1945 in New York City, Cassidy got his start working with show horses at the age of 12. He would later transition to racehorses and in 1975, Cassidy took out his trainer’s license. He then spent more than a decade working as an assistant for such top Eastern-based trainers as Joe Canty, Frank Whitely and Charles Sanborne before striking out on his own.

Cassidy’s first starter as a trainer came on Oct. 2, 1989 at Belmont Park, according to Equibase statistics. In late 1993, after only a handful of runners in New York, Cassidy moved his training operation to Southern California. He won his first-ever race at Hollywood Park on Dec. 12, 1993, with the claiming horse Royal Torrent.

Cassidy continued to operate a small stable at Santa Anita up until his death. His final starter, Pure Chaos, ran on Jan. 11 at Santa Anita and finished third in a maiden special weight

Cassidy won 442 races in his career while compiling $30,715,582 in purse earnings. His final win came on April 25, 2025 at Santa Anita with Princess Snow for owner-breeder DP Racing.

Notable horses from the Cassidy barn were Grade I-winning millionaires Evening Jewel, The Usual Q.T and Ticker Tape; and millionaire Grade II winner Moscow Burning. Cassidy also served multiple terms as president of California Thoroughbred Trainers, an organization that represents the interests of Thoroughbred trainers in the state.

“Jim just loved horses. Period,” said Alan Balch, executive director of California Thoroughbred Trainers. “From the first time I met him, that’s what stood out to me. He had his early experience on Long Island with show horses, and we had that in common when I first met him in connection with CTT. And he loved the Yankees, he always wore that cap proudly.”

Evening Jewel, a California-bred daughter of Northern Afleet owned by Braly Family Trust, raced from 2009 to 2011 and was a stakes winner all three seasons. In the spring of her 3-year-old season, Evening Jewel won the GI Ashland at Keeneland and then finished second in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Evening Jewel that year was then switched to turf and won the GI Del Mar Oaks, GII San Clemente at Del Mar and GII Honeymoon Handicap at Hollywood Park. She closed out the campaign back on dirt with a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs.

Evening Jewel finished with a record of 19: 7-6-2 and $1,221,399 in earnings.

Ticker Tape, a daughter of Royal Applause, banked $1,452,396 for owner Forging Oaks Farm from 2003-2006. Her biggest win came as a 3-year-old in 2005 when winning the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes.

The Usual Q.T, a California-bred gelding by Unusual Heat, earned $1,531,240 for owners Don Van Racing Inc., Michael Nentwig and partners. The Usual Q.T. won the GI Hollywood Derby in 2009 and came back the following year to win the GI Eddie Read at Del Mar.

Cassidy served as president of the CTT in 2009 and again from 2012 through June 2019. 

“Jim had a special knack with fillies and mares, and the records prove it,” Balch said. “He served the backstretch community as a whole tirelessly, through both the Gregson Foundation and his CTT leadership.”

Details on services will be announced at a later date.