Preston M. Burch

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Preston Morris Burch (August 25, 1884 - April 8, 1978) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, breeder, and owner. Born in Augusta, Georgia, he was the son of Hall of Fame trainer, William P. Burch and a nephew of another prominent horseman, Green B. Morris. Both Preston Burch and his brother Selby followed in their father's footsteps. He was greatly influenced by not only his father and uncle, but also by another Hall of Fame trainer, Sam Hildreth. Preston Burch began his career in 1902 with the purchase of his first racehorse Stuyve, a bay gelding by Stuyvesant and out of Katie A. (by Hyder Ali). The gelding raced and won in Burch's colors: blue silks with orange cuffs and an orange cap. Setting up his own public stable in Canada, Preston Burch trained horses for prominent American owners such as Francis R. Hitchcock and John E. Madden.