John W. Sadler

John W. Sadler (born July 30, 1956) is an American horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. He’s got over 2,600 race wins, including the 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic with Accelerate, who was subsequently named American Horse of the Year. He has won multiple training titles at Santa Anita Park, Del Mar and the now defunct Hollywood Park. Sadler trained Flightline, the winner of the 2022 Breeders' Cup Classic. Background Sadler was born on July 30, 1956, in Long Beach, California. He attended the University of Oregon before returning to Southern California to work as a veterinary assistant. He took out his trainer's license in 1978. He currently resides in Pasadena. Racing career Sadler got his first win in 1979 at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in the San Francisco Bay Area. His first graded stakes win came in 1982 when Don Roberto won the Rolling Green Handicap. His first Grade I winner was Victory Encounter, who took the 2004 Vanity Handicap. In April 1991, Sadler won Santa Anita's first-ever match race when his trainee Valiant Pete took on champion American Quarter Horse Griswold in a $100,000 winner-take-all race. Racing at the unusual distance of four furlongs (short for a Thoroughbred, long for a Quarter Horse), Valiant Pete set a world record of 0:44.