Steeplechase trainer Voss dies at 63

Thomas H. Voss, a highly respected and well-liked Maryland horseman, died of

an apparent heart attack Tuesday evening at his farm in Monkton, Maryland. A

successful trainer over fences and on the flat, he was 63.

A steeplechase horseman from his youth, Voss successfully rode over timber

fences and subsequently launched his career as a trainer in his native Maryland.

He was the National Steeplechase Association's leading trainer by wins five

times over a quarter-century, beginning in 1997 and most recently in 2011. He

won consecutive championships in 2000 through 2002, and he was the leading

trainer by purse winnings in 1997, 2002, and 2009. He is the third-leading

trainer by career purses with nearly $9 million.

He trained Slip Away to the 2010 Eclipse Award as champion steeplechase horse

with a campaign that culminated with a victory in the $100,000 Colonial Cup.

On the flat, he is best known as the trainer of John's Call, who at age nine

won the 2000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga and Turf Classic Invitational

at Belmont Park, and finished third in that year's Breeders' Cup Turf.

Voss also served on the National Steeplechase Association's Board of

Directors and was the NSA's secretary in 2013.

"American steeplechasing and horse racing have suffered a great loss," said

NSA President Guy J. Torsilieri. "Tom was a great friend, and he introduced me

to owning steeplechase horses. He was a wonderful person as well as a great

trainer, and the steeplechase community will miss him greatly."

"Tom Voss represented everything good about steeplechasing," said Bill Gallo

Jr., the NSA's director of racing. "He was a skilled horseman who took the very

best care of his horses, and he was a great person who was as thoughtful and

kind as anyone I have ever known."

Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Among his survivors are his wife, Mimi;

son Sam; daughter Elizabeth; and granddaughter Genevieve.