William Perry, trainer of Formal Gold, dies at 71

William Perry, a longtime leading trainer in New England and Florida who trained the Grade 1 winner and millionaire Formal Gold, died on Thursday, according to friends. Perry, 71, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than a decade ago, and died in hospice care in Naples, Fla., surrounded by family.

Perry, who retired from training in 2006, won 1,438 races from 6,672 starts over a 30-year training career. His best horse was Formal Gold, who won eight of 16 starts, including the 1997 Woodward Stakes, and $1.53 million in purse earnings.

Perry also trained the millionaire North East Bound, a gelding who won 12 of 50 starts and earned $1.36 million in a seven-year career. North East Bound finished second in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Mile at 42-1, setting the pace throughout the race and only yielding in the last 100 yards.

All in all, Perry’s starters earned $18.2 million. A native of Aiken, S.C., he made his first start in 1977 at Suffolk Downs, where he established himself as one of the leading trainers in the Northeast outside of New York. He then made the move to warmer climes in South Florida in the early 1990s.

“He was patient, gave the horses time,” said Wally Shute, a longtime friend of Perry who owned horses with the trainer throughout his career. “He was a straight shooter and a gentleman.”

Perry attempted to continue to train after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but his struggles with the disease led him to retire in 2006. He moved to Naples.

Perry is survived by his wife, Rosalie, and daughter Adrian, according to Shute. He donated his body to the University of Miami as part of a study into Parkinson’s disease, Shute said.

EQUI-PHOTOS Willaim Perry