{{Infobox horseracing personality |name = William Burch |image = |caption = |occupation = [[Horse trainer|Trainer]] / [[Ownership|Owner]] |birth_place = [[Cheraw, South Carolina]],<br>[[United States]] |birth_date = c. 1846 |death_date = July 9, 1926 |resting_place = [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]] |career wins = Not found |race = Monmouth Sequel Stakes (1872)<br/>Saratoga Sequel Stakes (1872)<br/>[[Spinaway Stakes]] (1885)<br/>[[Withers Stakes]] (1886)<br/>[[Russet Stakes]] (1898)<br/>[[Pansy Stakes]] (1899, 1902)<br/>[[Matron Stakes (United States)|Matron Stakes]] (1902)<br/>[[Grand Union Hotel Stakes]] (1902)<br/>Uncas Handicap (1923)<br/>Maryland Handicap (1923)<br/>[[Saratoga Handicap]] (1924) |awards = |honours = [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|United States' Racing Hall of Fame]] (1963)<br/>W. P. Burch Memorial Handicap <br>([[Bowie Race Track]]) |horses = Biggonet, My Own }}
'''William Preston Burch''' (c. 1846 – July 9, 1926) was an American [[Thoroughbred horse race|Thoroughbred horse racing]] [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] [[horse trainer|trainer]]. A native of South Carolina, William Burch served as a courier in the [[Confederate States Army]] under Lieut. Gen. [[Wade Hampton III]] during the [[American Civil War]]. At war's end he became involved in the racing of [[American Quarter Horse]]s at various [[fair]]grounds in the [[Southern United States]]. In 1866 he embarked on a career as a professional [[Horse trainer|trainer]] in [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing]] which led him to work at racetracks along the northeastern seaboard where for many years he owned, trained and raced horses for himself. Among those were Biggonet, who won important races at [[New York (state)|New York]] tracks including the 1885 [[Spinaway Stakes]] at [[Saratoga Race Course]] and the 1886 [[Withers Stakes]] at [[Jerome Park Racetrack]]. Beginning in the early 1890s Burch conditioned horses for owners such as [[Francis R. Hitchcock|Francis Hitchcock]], Samuel Ross, and [[Cary Travers Grayson|Admiral Cary Grayson]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/william-p-burch |title=W. P. Burch |publisher=Racingmuseum.org |date=1955-01-01 |access-date=2019-06-30}}</ref>
While preparing horses for owners Cary Grayson and Samuel Ross at [[Saratoga Springs, New York]] in July 1926, eighty-year-old William Burch fell ill and was admitted to a private hospital where he died on July 9.
Following its formation, in 1955 William P. Burch was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Sons [[Selby L. Burch|Selby]]<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1941/07/29/archives/selby-l-btjbch.html |title= Selby L. Burch |newspaper=New York Times |date=1941-07-29 |access-date=2019-06-30}}</ref> and [[Preston M. Burch|Preston]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/05/archives/preston-m-burch-trainer-dies-at-93-member-of-racings-hall-of-fame.html |title= Preston M. Burch, Trainer, Dies At 93 |newspaper=New York Times |date=1978-04-05 |access-date=2019-06-30}}</ref> both became trainers as did grandson [[J. Elliott Burch|Elliott Burch]] and great-grandson, [[William E. Burch]]. Preston and his son Elliott were both inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. In addition to members of his own family, William Burch was responsible for bringing future Hall of Fame inductees [[George M. Odom|George Odom]] and [[A. Jack Joyner|Jack Joyner]] into Thoroughbred racing.
Burch was buried in [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-william-preston-burch-is-bu/179582270/ |title=William Preston Burch is Buried in Capital |date=1926-07-13 |newspaper=The Evening Star |page=9 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2025-08-23}}{{Open access}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, William P.}} [[Category:1840s births]] [[Category:1926 deaths]] [[Category:Confederate States Army soldiers]] [[Category:American racehorse trainers]] [[Category:United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees]] [[Category:People from Cheraw, South Carolina]] [[Category:Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)]]