Bert S. Michell

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Bert S. Michell (May 21, 1881 – October 21, 1938) was an American Thoroughbred horse trainer and owner. He is best known for training Reigh Count, who won the 1928 Kentucky Derby and was named American Horse of the Year.

In 1927, Michell trained for Green Briar Stable after owner Frank D. Shea liquidated his operation, and he was later hired by John D. Hertz and his wife Fannie of Leona Farm in Illinois. That year he trained Anita Peabody, a top two-year-old filly who won the Belmont Futurity Stakes and Churchill Downs Debutante Stakes and was named American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.

Reigh Count brought Michell his greatest success, earning high honors as a two-year-old and winning the Kentucky Derby at age three. In 1929, under the Hertzes, Michell and Reigh Count raced in England, where the horse won the Coronation Cup at Epsom and finished second in the Ascot Gold Cup.

Later in 1929, Michell left the Hertz stable to train for Emil and Jennie Denemark of Chicago. He raced on the East Coast and settled in Miami, Florida, where he enjoyed success with Denemark’s horses at Hialeah Park and Tropical Park racetracks. He died unexpectedly in 1938 of heart problems and is buried at Resthaven Memorial Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.