Barry Abrams

Barry Abrams, the legendary and beloved horse trainer, passed away October 9 following a courageous 15-year battle with cancer. He was 66.


Born in Minsk, Russia, Abrams immigrated to Southern California in 1963, traveling from Israel with his parents, Lev and Rose Abramovski, and younger brother, David, with whom he shared a deep, lifelong brotherly bond.

Though his mother envisioned a career in accounting, Barry would eventually quit school to pursue his passion in the horse racing industry. By 1975, he acquired his trainers license, first working with harness horses, his best being Guts, an earner of more than $1.6 million. Then switching to thoroughbreds, he worked as an assistant to Roger Stein before going out on his own in 1993.

Barry was considered a horse whisperer. The trainer, breeder, and owner famously claimed Unusual Heat in 1996 for $80,000. The stallion would become his pride and joy — and California's all-time leading sire. With a passion for horse racing, Barry became known for his unique style of running his horses often. As he'd say, "Owners don't get paid for workouts." Before retiring as a trainer in 2016, he won nearly 700 races with earnings north of $30 million. Some of his more well-known horses include: Famous Digger, Unusual Suspect, Golden Doc A and Lethal Heat. Barry was still active on the track, enjoying mornings at Clocker's Corner, and watching Mo Forza, whom he co-owned with wife, Dyan, and dear friend Onofrio Pecoraro, rack up six wins since 2019. Mo Forza is set to run in the Breeders Cup in November.

It was through the race track that he met his wife of 38 years, Dyan. Together, they had two children, AnnaMarie, 37, and Natalie, 34. Barry was the North Star of the Abrams family. Just as equally as he wanted to walk his daughters down the aisle, he wanted to see what became of the Unusual Heat progeny. Despite battling stage 4 throat and neck cancer since 2005, Barry was fortunately able to do both.

An avid storyteller, Barry would often hold court at race tracks across Southern California. Standing tall at 6'4", he was a gentle giant, generous in spirit, often helping others in need. Though he had much to celebrate in life, he was always humble and instilled that same sense of humility in every life he touched.

Barry is survived by his wife, Dyan; daughter AnnaMarie and her husband Jonathan Applegarth, and their twin girls, Stella and Rose; daughter Natalie and her wife, Lesley Goldberg; and brother David and his wife Melanie, along with their sons, Andrew and Aaron.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Barry Abrams' name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) https://pdjf.org/donate/donation-in-memorial/