Bobby Frankel

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bobby Frankel, a gruff Hall of Fame trainer who possessed a gift for coaxing top performances out of ornery, high-strung thoroughbreds, died of cancer Monday at his home in Pacific Palisades, jockey agent Ron Anderson said. He was 68. Frankel had been running his stable by phone for most of the year while undergoing treatment and concealing details of his illness from most of his colleagues, a remarkable feat in an industry fueled by gossip. Frankel began his career at Belmont Park and Aqueduct in New York, one of the cheap hired hands who walk horses around the barn after morning workouts. He took out his trainer's license in 1966 and won his first race with Double Dash at Aqueduct that November. He built an early reputation as "King of the Claimers," taking the cheapest horses and turning them into high-priced stakes winners. Frankel saddled 3,654 winners and earned $227,949,775 during his 43-year career, according to Equibase. He was second only to D. Wayne Lukas in money won, and they were the only trainers to earn more than $200 million. The Brooklyn-born Frankel oversaw a coast-to-coast string of horses, never losing his New York accent or brusque demeanor that came off as intimidating to most who sought him around the barn. He revealed a softer side only among his animals and close friends. Frankel enjoyed his greatest success this decade, winning four consecutive Eclipse Awards (2000-03) as the nation's leading trainer and five overall.