Born: November 30, 1942                     Port Arthur, TX

Hal Wiggins graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1960. As a young teenager, he spent the summer of 1958 working for W. A. “Ab” Simpson at Ruidoso Downs. Mr. Simpson had been the leading trainer at Ruidoso Downs in 1957. Hal attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a B.B.A. in Management in January 1966. After working in the business world, he embarked on a horse-training career that spanned more than thirty years. He began his career in Louisiana and, for the last sixteen years, was based at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. Over the course of his career, he was licensed to train in at least fifteen states and became a leading trainer at Louisiana Downs, Keeneland Race Course, and Kentucky Downs.

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Hal had the privilege of training Rachel Alexandra from her two-year-old season through her victory in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks. Rachel was later named Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and Horse of the Year in 2009. She has since been inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

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Wiggins amassed a record of 872 wins and total earnings of $20,221,625. Throughout his career, his horses captured victories in numerous stakes races, including four Grade 2 events, one Grade 3, and one Grade 1 title.

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The multiple-stakes-winning Chorwon became Hal’s first millionaire trainee, recording victories in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs, three consecutive Louisville Handicaps at Churchill Downs, two John B. Connally Breeders’ Cup Turf wins at Sam Houston Race Park, and a sixth-place finish in the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Belmont Park. Chorwon retired with $1,161,795 in career earnings.

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Other notable horses trained by Hal include multiple-stakes winner Morris Code ($745,167), stakes winner Jake the Flake ($553,851), multiple-stakes winner Leo’s Gypsy Dancer ($457,263), stakes winner Red Mountain ($421,776), multiple-stakes winner Rapid Proof ($506,338), and multiple-stakes winner Swingit ($345,353).

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After retiring in the fall of 2009, Hal served as a steward at Fair Grounds Race Course during the 2014–15 and 2015–16 race meets. He received the designation of Accredited Steward in February 2015. He later served as Racing Integrity Officer at Oaklawn Park for the 2018 and 2019 seasons and as association steward at Kentucky Downs (2019–2021) and Oaklawn Park (2020–2021).

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In 2009, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners Association presented Hal with the Warner L. Jones Jr. “Horseman of the Year” Award. In 2010, he received the Dean Eagle Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the Thoroughbred industry from the Bishop Spaulding Council 2761, Knights of Columbus. In 2017, the Thoroughbred Charities of America honored him as the Award of Merit recipient for Texas. In 2020, Hal was inducted into both the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the Museum of the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame.

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Hal is a lifetime member of the Texas Thoroughbred Association and served on its Board of Directors from 2010 to 2017, including as president from 2015 to 2016. He also served as president of the Paddock Foundation from 2013 to 2017, a nonprofit organization of the TTA dedicated to supporting the care of retired Thoroughbred racehorses through rescue, rehabilitation, retraining, and rehoming programs. In addition, he served on the Board of Directors of the Ruidoso Jockey Club from 2017 to 2020.

Since 2019, Hal has served as a regional director for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America. He also served on the Pete Pedersen Award Nominating Committee (2018–2019) and on the final judging panel for the 2019 Godolphin Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards.