Training great Frankel dies at 68

Frankel was second in the list of Breeders' Cup earnings

Legendary American trainer Bobby Frankel has died at the age of 68.

Winner of the Eclipse Award for the nation's top trainer five times, he died at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, after a battle with cancer.

He won the Belmont Stakes with Empire Maker in 2003 and trained six Breeders' Cup winners, including 2004 Classic champion Ghostzapper.

In 2003, Frankel won 25 Grade One races, a single-season world record that still stands.

He won 3,654 races from 17,657 starters and his horses earned almost $228m(£13m), putting him second all-time on the money list to D. Wayne Lukas.

Frankel had been running his stable's affairs by phone for most of the year while he was undergoing treatment.

Elected to racing's Hall of Fame in the United States in 1995, he was best known in Europe as American trainer for Khalid Abdullah's powerful Juddmonte operation.

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"Bobby Frankel was one of the greatest trainers in thoroughbred racing history," National Thoroughbred Racing Association president Alex Waldrop said in a statement.

"His outstanding horsemanship, coupled with a keen insight into the game, made him a force in the sport for the last 40 years.

"His immense talent, and his abiding love for his horses, will be sorely missed."