The son of U.S. Hall of Fame trainer James G. Rowe Sr., he initially planned to become a mechanical engineer and graduated from Fordham and Cornell universities.
After Whitney died, James Rowe Jr. returned to work for Greentree Stable in the latter part of 1930, replacing Thomas W.
He trained the 1928 Preakness Stakes winner Victorian,[3] and in 1929 was the Leading trainer in the United States by earnings with $314,881 in purse money.
[7] Rowe Jr. lived for only a few months after these victories, dying at age 42 of a heart attack in October of that year.
[9] One of five children, his brother, Belmont A. Rowe, who was also involved in horse racing, died at a young age in 1927.