Before the grandstands fill, before the cameras start rolling, and before a single bet is placed, there’s a world behind the racetrack that most fans never see. In that space, where the scent of hay lingers in the morning chill and the barns hum with soft movement, walks Peter Eurton. At 67, while many in horse racing have stepped away, Eurton is still there before sunrise, coffee in hand, pacing the shed rows with the same energy he had as a teenager. You won’t often find his name in headlines, but on the backside, where the real work happens, they all know him. He’s been part of that world for half a century, and recently, he shared how it all began.

In a video shared by The Real Players Inside the Backstretch on X, Eurton was asked how he first got into racing. He paused, smiled, and said, “Oh my God, you’re talking way back. I’m 67 years old, so we’re going back 50 years. Yeah, I went to a jockey school when I was 16 Rex Ellsworth, actually, back in the day. That was in Ontario, CA.” After spending a few years away from the track, Eurton returned with a different path in mind. “I got into training horses back in ’85. My stepfather, Steven Ipolido, I worked for him for a little while. He passed some 15 years ago, maybe longer. But I’ve been training horses in California for, like, the last 50 years.” His love for the game didn’t fade; it just shifted forms.

Though his first graded stakes runner, Deadshot Keen (IRE), didn’t appear in the record books until 2006, Peter Eurton’s true breakthrough arrived in 2011 when Weemissfrankie captured the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante Stakes. From there, Eurton’s name became a fixture in elite horse racing circles. He secured his first Breeders’ Cup victory in 2016 with Champagne Room in the Juvenile Fillies. His stable has also produced multiple Grade 2 winners, including Madame Cactus, My Gi Gi, Second Summer, and Cheekaboo, and in 2014, he saddled Dance With Fate to a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby after a commanding win in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.

More recently, Giant Expectations represented Eurton’s barn in the 2025 Pegasus World Cup, while he also took home the Kitten’s Joy Stakes title in Florida that same year.  Since then, he has earned over $46 million in purses. Yet despite the success, he’s not one to stand back and just watch; Eurton is still in the barns every day. But how did he turn from jockey to trainer and why?

Over 840 wins in horse racing and still going strong

Well, back in 1970, Peter Eurton wasn’t dreaming of headlines or trophies. He was just a teenager galloping horses under the sharp eye of his stepfather, trainer Steve Ippolito. “My dad had a big passion for horse racing,” Eurton shared with The Real Players Inside the Backstretch. “He always wanted me to be a jock. We’d go to the races all the time together.” It wasn’t glamorous, but it was home. And for Peter, that was enough. But the saddle didn’t hold him forever.

In the early ’80s, an injury ended his riding career. But he never left the barns. Instead, he doubled down, learning the ropes behind the scenes, mucking stalls, wrapping legs, watching, listening, and showing up. His stepfather, Steve Ippolito, became more than family; he became a mentor. “Those, I would say, are probably my biggest mentors as far as horse racing: my stepfather then, and my dad. Yeah, there you go.” By 1989, Eurton officially stepped into his own light as a licensed Thoroughbred trainer, setting up shop across Southern California: Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Hollywood Park.

His first major graded runner came in 2006. Since then, Eurton has trained over 5,800 starters, earning 844 wins, 882 seconds, 837 thirds, and a total of $46,257,495 in purses. In 2025 alone, he’s already posted 184 starts, with 32 wins, 27 seconds, 29 thirds, and over $2.1 million in earnings. Five decades in, Peter Eurton isn’t chasing legacy; he’s living it, one morning at a time.