William B. Finnegan

Who was William B. Finnegan?

William B. "Bill" Finnegan was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer.

A native of New York City, Finnegan spent more than fifty years as a trainer primarily on the West Coast of the United States. During his career he conditioned horses for major stable owners such as Vera S. Bragg, movie mogul Louis B. Mayer, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Edward S. Moore's Circle M Ranch stable, George A. Pope, Jr.'s El Peco Ranch, and Neil S. McCarthy who would name one of his horses in his honor.

Following its opening in December 1929, Finnegan was racing at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico. Racing in California, where he would make his home in Arcadia near Santa Anita Park, Finnegan won the 1939 Hollywood Derby with Shining One who equalled the Hollywood Park track record. In 1940, he took over as the trainer of Big Pebble after the four-year-old was purchased by client, Edward S. Moore. Raced by his former owner at age two and three, Big Pebble showed little and had even been used as a lead pony. Under Finnegan in 1941, Big Pebble blossomed into the best older horse in the United States.