John Parisella is an American horse trainer[2] known for training the racehorses Fight Over[3] and Simply Majestic.[4] He last raced during 2016 and by year's end had 1,241 career wins.[5]
Parisella pioneered the use of foreign horses, mostly from Canada and turning them into stakes winners.[6]
Personal life
Parisella has been married twice. In 1975, he married Bernadette Birk, the former wife of horse trainer Robert J. Frankel.[11][12] Parisella and Frankel were originally friends as well as competitors.[6] Parisella raised his step-daughter Bethenny Frankel (Birk's daughter with Frankel) as his own child from the time she was five years old.[11] Bethenny went on to become a reality TV star and entrepreneur.[11] He was also married to Melissa Parisella, with whom he has a daughter, Gabrielle (b. 1989).[10][13] They divorced and Melissa has since re-married twice: first to American football player Mike Keller, with whom she had two children.[14]
