John J. Lenzini, Jr.

Who is John J. Lenzini, Jr.?

John J. "Butch" Lenzini, Jr. was an American horse trainer in Thoroughbred flat racing best known for winning the second leg of the 1982 U.S. Triple Crown series.

Nicknamed "Butch," he was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts but raised in Rhode Island. His father, John Sr., was a trainer who worked at racetracks on the East Coast of the United States. Following in his father's footsteps, Lenzini, Jr. earned his first win as a professional trainer in 1969 at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. After relocating to race at tracks in Maryland, his association with Baltimore builder Nathan Scherr brought him his greatest success in racing in 1982. As the trainer for Scherr's colt, Aloma's Ruler, in January he won the Bahamas Stakes at Hialeah Park Race Track, the May 8th Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, then the biggest win of his career, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. In July, Aloma's Ruler won the Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park but came out of a second-place finish in the August 21st Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course with an ankle injury that ended his career.