Horse trainer Mike Mitchell dies of brain cancer at 66

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) Mike Mitchell, the all-time leading thoroughbred trainer at Del Mar racetrack with 476 victories, has died after a long struggle with brain cancer. He was 66.

He died Tuesday at his home in Monrovia, not far from Santa Anita racetrack, where he won two training titles and 659 races. Track officials confirmed his death Wednesday. Mitchell had turned his stable over to longtime assistant Phil D'Amato last April and retired because of his illness.

Mitchell won 19 training titles on the Southern California circuit, including seven at Del Mar, the last coming in 2011 at the seaside track north of San Diego. His biggest success came late in his career with Ireland-bred Obviously, who won five graded stakes races in 2012-13 and finished third in the 2012 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.