Jones, Ben

Ben Jones, byname of Benjamin Allyn Jones, (born December 31, 1882, Parnell, Missouri, U.S.—died June 13, 1961, Lexington, Kentucky), American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who was one of the most successful in the sport. He trained six winners of the Kentucky Derby, and two of his horses (Whirlaway [1941] and Citation [1948]) won the Triple Crown (victories in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes).

In 1914 Jones began breeding and training horses in the American Midwest. In 1932 he joined Woolford Farm, and there he trained Lawrin, winner of the Kentucky Derby in 1938. In 1939 he joined Calumet Farm, where he was outstandingly successful. At the height of his career, Jones 11 times led all American trainers in earnings from his horses’ winnings. In addition to Whirlaway and Citation, famous horses trained by him included Pensive, Twilight Tear, Armed, Coaltown, Fervent, Faultless, Bewitch, Wistful, and Pot o’ Luck. In 1947 Jones retired as a full-time trainer and became general manager of Calumet Farm, where his son, Horace Allyn Jones, called Jimmy, or H.A., also was a trainer. In 1952 Hill Gail, a horse trained by the elder Jones, won the Kentucky Derby, giving Ben his sixth victory in the event, a record that was tied by Bob Baffert in 2020.