Robert W. Walden

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Robert Wyndham Walden ( 1843 - April 28, 1905) was one of the most successful trainers in thoroughbred horse racing during the last quarter of the 19th century.

In 1872, Robert Walden and his wife Caroline moved from New York to Middleburg, Maryland where they established "Bowling Brook Farm" to breed and train thoroughbred race horses.

Robert Walden trained his first Preakness Stakes winner in 1875 then two years later began a streak of five straight victories, all of which came with horses owned by George L. Lorillard. Walden won the Preakness for a seventh time in 1888, a record for a trainer that still stands. During a career spanning thirty-one years between 1872 and 1902, he also won the Belmont Stakes four times and trained more than 100 Stakes race winners

His daughter married Fred Littlefield who rode Refund to victory in the 1888 Preakness Stakes. On his passing in 1905, "Bowling Brook Farm" was taken over by his wife then his children. Over the Walden family's eighty year history in racing they raised and trained winners of more than one thousand races.

Robert Walden was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1970.

Preakness Stakes winners: