TRAINER DARRELL FREY PASSES AWAY

CYPRESS, CA - Sept. 28, 2011 - Darrell Frey, who trained Meadow Creek Ranch’s Ettago Chickie to the title of champion2-year-old filly in 1980, passed away at the age of 78 in Salem, Oregon on Friday.

Born in South Dakota, Frey saddled the daughter of champion aged stallion Ettabo to victories in both the $820,000 Dash For Cash Futurity and the $432,242 Kindergarten Futurity at Los Alamitos Race Course. Frey won a total of 214 Quarter Horse races during his training career at Los Alamitos Race to go along with many more winners at racetracks like Portland Meadows, where he trained for many years before establishing his California racing operation in the late 1960s.

“We lived in Salem, Oregon, but my dad trained a lot of horses in Portland,” said trainer Dean Frey. “My dad actually worked at a plywood mill and after getting out of work he’d go home and have fun with his horses. Horses were his love. He came to run some horses at the California fairs in 1968 before coming to Los Alamitos in 1969.He went full time as a horse trainer from there. I was only 13 when we came to Los Alamitos. We’ve had horses here ever since.

“Ettago Chickie was probably his best horse,” Dean said. “Those years were a good time for all of us and it was a really proud time of my life. I was so proud of my dad for what he accomplished with that filly.”
 
After retiring from the training ranks, Darrell Frey hauled horses for many years for top horse operations and horsemen like Lazy E Ranch, Dutch Masters III, Burns Ranch, Jaime Gomez, Zory Kuzyk, etc.

“My dad took a lot babies and mares to the Midwest for the Heritage Place and Ruidoso sales,” he said. “He did that for about 20 years and many people were really dedicated to him. I can’t thank them enough. After he stopped training my dad owned and bred horses and we ran some together. He had a mare that he bred and raced by the name of Just Cant Hide It, who was multiple allowance winner at Los Alamitos. She made him very proud.”

Darrell Frey suffered from Lewy body disease, a type of dementia closely allied to Alzheimers, according to his son, Dean. Darrell Frey is survived by three children, sons Dean and Darrell Jr. and daughter Susie, by five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. For more info call 714-820-2690.