A lifetime of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice has all come together to make Bessie Gruwell one of the most respected women in racing, not only at her home base of Delaware Park but in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
Gruwell, the executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, has earned her stripes. The daughter of a Maryland trainer, she grew up following reluctantly in her father’s footsteps, filling his shoes upon his early death. An inner strength and iron constitution helped her survive many lean years once she secured her own trainer’s license, years that saw her juggle a barn full of horses at the Stanton oval when purses were barely $35,000 per day and a full-time job with a local company in order to make ends meet.
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