Retired Trainer Jimmy Jimenez Dies

Jimmy Jimenez, who trained major California winner Agitate, died March 26 in Phoenix because of complications from surgery. He was 80.

Agitate, a Round Table grandson, was one of the nation's top 3-year-olds of 1974. He won such graded events as the Hollywood (gr. I) and California (gr. II) Derbys, and ran third in the Kentucky (gr. I) and Santa Anita (gr. I) Derbys. He won or placed in all 11 starts that year.

Jimenez was born and raised in Eureka, Ill., and graduated from the University of Illinois. He was a race rider in Panama, where his father worked for the Panama Canal operation, and served as a Navy pilot during World War II.

Jimenez retired from training in the mid-1980s, but occasionally trained a horse here and there. He conditioned five stakes winner during his career. His survivors include sons Michael and James, who is a blacksmith at the Southern California tracks.

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