He made his training debut in 1961 at Ellis Park Racecourse in Henderson, Kentucky, and won his first race with a horse named New York.
He soon established himself at Waterford Park (now Mountaineer Racetrack) in Chester, West Virginia, where he won every meet training title for 20 consecutive years between 1981 and 2000.
In 2004, he recorded his 9,000th career training victory and was the first trainer in racing history to reach that plateau.
He was honoured with a Special Eclipse Award by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) in 2005, highlighting the milestone and his whole career.
[2] Dale's son, Bart, and brother John, also train horses at Mountaineer.