Bart Cummings

Bart Cummings, 12-time Melbourne Cup winning horse trainer, died Sunday according to The Associated Press. He was 87.

Known as "the race that stops a nation," the Melbourne Cup is the premiere horseracing event in Australia. He won 12 cups with 11 different horses between 1965 and 2008. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1991.

Born in 1927, he began working with horses under the tutelage of his father, trainer Jim Cummings. Despite an allergy to horses, Cummings' love of the animals could not be deterred and in 1953 he received his trainer license. It would be several years before his first major victory, but once he started winning, he never stopped.

Between 1965 and 2008 he won 12 Melbourne Cup winners, more than twice as many as any other trainer in history. He won his final cup on the 50th anniversary of his first entry in the race. He formed a training partnership with his grandson in 2014 and they one their first Group 1 race in September.

He died in his sleep at home. His grandson James said in a statement, "A husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, a master trainer and larger than life figure. We will miss you."

Cummings is survived by his wife of 61 years, Valmae.