Mr. Edmund Anthony Gann

1923 - 2010

Edmund Gann was a successful businessman in the tuna fishing industry when he accepted payment of a debt in the form of a half-interest in a horse. Thus began a 40-plus-year passion with horse racing.

In the 1960s, Mr. Gann started building a stable of horses, and by the 1970s he teamed up with Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel. The pair had several winners, including Wickerr, Peace Rules and Medaglia d'Oro.

Mr. Gann died of cancer Friday at his Rancho Santa Fe home. He was 86.

Although Mr. Gann's primary focus had been fishing for many years, he also had interests in banking, hotels and restaurants.

"I've tried a little bit of everything, but now racing is one of the major businesses I'm in," Mr. Gann said in a 1990 interview with The San Diego Union when his 3-year-old colt Burnt Hills was preparing to race at Churchill Downs.

By then, his tuna fleet, which had numbered 50 boats at one time, was down to about four boats.

In 1977, Mr. Gann bought the 35-acre Cedar Hills Farm in Rancho Santa Fe, which became the headquarters for his racing business and also became the site of several charity events.

He owned a multitude of multiple-stake winners over the years and held the leading owner title at Del Mar in 1981.

"He was very lucky and very smart with his horses," said Joe Harper, CEO and president of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. "He had a good relationship with Bobby Frankel. I think they fired each other three or four times, but they'd get back together again. It was a funny relationship, but they had great respect for each other."

Mr. Gann usually had a smile on his face, Harper said. "He was very approachable, a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. He'll be missed."

He bought many horses in Europe and brought them to the United States to be trained by Mr. Frankel, who died in November.

Edmund Anthony Gann was born Oct. 10, 1923, in Gloucester, Mass., to Vincent and Nazareth Gann. He grew up in San Diego where his father built and operated a commercial fishing clipper. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After his military service, he returned to San Diego and amassed a fortune in the fishing business.

He enjoyed traveling around the world to watch his horses race. In 1988, Mr. Gann's horse, Pay the Butler, won the Japan Cup in Tokyo. He also had one of the top turf horses in the country in the mid-1980s in Al Mamoon.

One of Mr. Gann's favorite horses, Medaglia d'Oro, earned more than $5.7 million during his career and finished fourth at the Kentucky Derby in 2002 and came in second at the Dubai World Cup in 2004.

Mr. Gann is survived by his wife, Bernice of Rancho Santa Fe; a daughter, Diana Franklin-Mello of San Diego; a brother, Joseph of San Diego; a sister, Lil Frietas of La Mesa; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a daughter, Sally Robideaux, and a brother, Vincent Gann.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow ?at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum, 4470 Hilltop Drive, San Diego

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to San Diego Hospice, 4311 Third Ave., San Diego, 92103.