David Hofmans, who trained three Breeders’ Cup winners and Touch Gold’s upset in
the 1997 Belmont Stakes, died Wednesday at home in Arcadia, Calif., the Los
Angeles Daily News reported. He was 81.

Linda Murray Hofmans, the trainer’s wife, confirmed the news,
saying an autopsy would be part of the investigation by local police.

Hofmans was a popular, well-liked figure around Southern California racetracks for a half-century. Don Chatlos, who competed against Chatlos, wrote on X, “Sad
news out of SoCal. I know we throw the adjectives the nicest guy, a class act, a
true gentleman around, but that describes David Hofmans. SoCal racing lost a
very good man. RIP.”

A native of Los Angeles, Hofmans began his training career
in 1974. His final win came May 11, when Seventeen Black won a claiming race at
Santa Anita.

In between Hofmans famously won the 1996 Breeders’ Cup
Classic at Woodbine, where Alphabet Soup pulled off a 19-1 upset of a field
that included future Hall of Famer Cigar.

Hofmans played the role of giant killer again the following
summer when Touch Gold scored a 5-2 win in the Belmont Stakes, spoiling the
Triple Crown bid by Silver Charm.

Breeders’ Cup victories also came to Hofmans via Adoration
in the 2003 Distaff and with Desert Code in the 2008 Turf Sprint.

In 1997, Hofmans was the first trainer of eventual Canada
Hall of Fame horse Awesome Again, who won the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine and Grade
2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. The Grade 1 stakes at Santa Anita named for Awesome
Again between 2012 and 2023 will be rebranded as the California Crown this
fall.

Hofmans was a winner of 1,085 races with earnings from 7,362
starts of $53,335,405, according to Equibase.

According to the Daily News, Hofmans was survived by
his wife, his son and trainer Grant Hofmans, daughters Amy Bridges and Jill
Hoffmans, stepson Bill McCoy and six grandchildren.