As difficult to comprehend as it might be for someone living at a time when statistics have become an obsession, there’s no way of telling exactly how many races trainer Frank Y. Whiteley Jr. won in his career.

Numbers, though, are probably the least effective way of measuring the quality of his work and the tremendous respect he gained during the 48 years he spent caring for the horses in his barn.

Throughout the long history of horse racing in the United States, California has produced an abundance of locally bred stars.