By Bloodhorse.com
PASADENA, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2020) — Barry Abrams, whose name will always be linked to Unusual Heat but who trained such other top runners as Del Mar Oaks (G1T) winner Famous Digger, died Oct. 9 in Pasadena, Calif., of respiratory failure after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 66.
Funeral services will take place Monday, Oct. 19, at 3:00 p.m. PT at the Hollywood Hills location of Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Abrams famously claimed Unusual Heat and, with owners and the mother-son team of Madeline and Harris Auerbach, shepherded the horse into becoming one of California’s all-time leading sires. Much of Abrams’ success came through Unusual Heat’s offspring and into the second generation.
In addition to a training career that included 688 wins and more than $30 million in purse earnings, Abrams was a major breeder and owner, often in partnership with his wife, Dyan, and his brother, David. Barry and Dyan in the name of Bardy Farm bred Mo Forza (Uncle Mo —Inflamed, by Unusual Heat) and campaigned him with OG Boss. Trained by Peter Miller, Mo Forza won the Oct. 3 City of Hope Mile Stakes (G2T), one of five graded stakes wins. Mo Forza’s earnings stand at $734,460.
“He was an incredible horseman who had a real connection with the horses,” Harris Auerbach said. “He taught me a lot about horses and the business of racing.”
Madeline Auerbach, founding chair of the California Retirement Management Account to help find second careers for Thoroughbreds and a former commissioner on the California Horse Racing Board, called Abrams “a dear, kind soul.”
Remembering Abrams as a trainer with a “symbiotic connection” to his runners, Madeline Auerbach added, “He had a lot of friends, he loved his family dearly, and I know he loved the horses. It was almost like he could climb inside their brains and figure out what it was they wanted to do and what they needed for him to calm them down. He was a master at it.”
Born in Minsk, Russia, in 1954, Abrams lived in Poland and Israel before moving with his family to Burbank, Calif., in 1963. While attending California State Los Angeles and studying business, he groomed Standardbreds in the mornings. Abrams trained harness horses from 1978-87, his best horse being Guts, an earner of more than $2 million.
Switching to Thoroughbreds, Abrams worked as an assistant to trainer Roger Stein before going out on his own in 1993. He claimed Famous Digger as a maiden in early 1997 for $40,000 for Let It Ride Stable. Famous Digger later that year won four consecutive stakes on the turf—the Honeymoon Handicap (G3T), Variety Queen Handicap, San Clemente Handicap (G2T), and Del Mar Oaks.
Abrams claimed Unusual Heat for $80,000 in 1996 for James Auerbach (Madeline’s husband and Harris’ father), Andy Hillas’ Team Green, Russell Wolkoff, and himself and brother David. They won a shake for him with trainer Mike Mitchell, who years later admitted he would have gelded Unusual Heat.
The Abrams family and the Auerbachs all had great success breeding and racing sons and daughters of Unusual Heat. In many cases, Barry Abrams trained the runners, including millionaire and grade 1 winner Unusual Suspect, Las Virgenes Stakes (G1) winner Golden Doc A, and Hollywood Oaks (G2) winner Lethal Heat. Abrams family members also bred and/or raced many of the runners, often in partnership with the Auerbachs.
Even when throat cancer made Abrams seriously ill and robbed him of his voice, he continued to train through early 2016. He stood in the winner’s circle with Mo Forza and, until the COVID-19 pandemic kept people away from the track, continued to be an enthusiastic part of the group of trainers who met daily at Clockers’ Corner at Santa Anita Park. Mel Stute, another of that group, died this year.
“He loved his family, his horses, and life,” Harris Auerbach said. “He was the best of friends to many and would give the shirt off his back to anyone who asked.”
In addition to his wife of 38 years and his brother, Abrams is survived by daughters Anna Marie and Natalie, granddaughters Stella and Rose, and nephews Andrew and Aaron.