About Tim Keefe
Born and raised in Laurel, Tim Keefe followed his mentor, Joe Aitcheson to the sport of horse racing. The Hall of Fame steeplechase jockey lived down the street from Tim and that’s where the young man realized the allure of the old man.
Riding lessons at the local riding school turned into summer jobs at the local Thoroughbred farm, which turned into a job breaking babies with his future father in law Billy Gilbert, which turned into summer jobs for Jack and Gretchen Mobberley, Jimmy Murphy and Ronnie Cartwright at Laurel Park.
The hook was set.
Tim joined Pony Club and bought his first horse at 15, tried the steeplechase circuit with future Hall of Fame trainer Janet Elliot and studied Agriculture Business and Finance at the University of Maryland.
Tim wanted to be a jump jockey but soon gravitated to the other side of the saddling stall, taking out his trainer’s license in 1993. With a couple of horses and an open mind, Timothy L. Keefe Racing Stable was born.
By the time Tim took out his trainer’s license, he had a college degree from the University of Maryland, his A Pony Club rating, some amateur flat races under his belt as a jockey and a girlfriend he would soon marry.
Via Hawaii notched Tim’s first win July 22, 1993. Tim won his first jump race when Goferitstutz won at Foxfield Races Sept. 26, 1993. The veteran jumper leapt out of the claiming ranks to win the Noel Laing Steeplechase Stakes at Montpelier later that fall. A year later, Anarex garnered Tim’s first flat stakes win when she won at the Maryland Million in 1994.
Over the years, the stable has grown to between 25 and 35 horses, all based at Laurel Park. Audrey and Allen Murray’s Celtic Innis led the way early. Retired as an 8-year-old in 2010, the homebred banked over $600,000 including stakes wins at Monmouth Park, Delaware Park, Colonial Downs and Laurel Park. He retired sound after finished second in the 2010 Maryland Million Sprint. He's fat and happy at Keefe's farm.
After Celtic Innis came the likes of Eighttofasttocatch and Red's Round Table. The former owns 15 wins for nearly $1 million in career earnings. Selected by Keefe at Timonium Yearling Sale, the Maryland-bred son of Not For Love won the Maryland Million Classic (his second), the Jennings and the Broad Brush to finish 2013. In all, he's won 10 stakes.
Purchased by Keefe, Red's Round Table won her 2-year-old debut in 2010 and has now won five stakes – from Aqueduct to Laurel to Delaware Park.
Tim and his wife Rumsey live at their farm in Sandy Spring, MD with their four children.
Rumsey runs a successful business retraining racehorses for other disciplines. Horton Who, Strike Zone, Galic Marriage and Marshal Pat are just a few of the racehorses turned show/eventers she has produced over the years.
