John Mackie

John Mackie has trained at Barton Hall Stables near Church Broughton in South Derbyshire for over 30 years.

A former amateur jockey for Ken Oliver in the late 70s, John became Ian Balding’s assistant trainer at Kingsclere in the early 80s before setting up as a trainer in his own right, initially at Malton. He still rides out every day so is in a great position to know where the horses are in their preparation.

His facilities include a six furlong all-weather gallop, just a few hundred yards from the stables. This incorporates both left and right hand turns, which aids their development, and has a stiff uphill finish which makes it ideal for conditioning the horses.

John has 22 boxes at his disposal so is able to give each horse individual attention, providing a level of personal hands-on care for his horses that you could not normally expect from larger yards. This is borne out by the excellent strike rates of winners to runners that he consistently achieves.

He also has a solid track record in improving modestly priced horses purchased from larger yards that have gone on to win races and compete at a higher level.

His yard is yard is ideally located for easy access to a wide range of racecourses, primarily in the Midlands and North, but he has runners all over the country.