Carlton A. Roles (August 29, 1903 – January 16, 1970) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who served for a time as the President of the California Thoroughbred Trainers Association.[1]
Usually known as Carl Roles, he was sometimes referred to by the nickname, "Slim." A Thoroughbred trainer and owner, he trained for prominent stable owners such as Ada L. Rice of Chicago, Hollywood film studio boss, Louis B. Mayer and Milly Factor.[2] In the 1930s he met with considerable success as the trainer of Time Supply for owner Frank A. Carreaud. The colt won a number of important races including the Massachusetts Handicap, San Antonio Handicap, San Vicente Handicap, and the Narragansett Special. However, Roles is best known as the trainer of Terrang whose race conditioning he took over in January 1957 after the horse was purchased by his clients, Roland Bond and Lawrence S. Pollock. In the summer of 1966, the owner of Desert Trial, Muriel Vanderbilt Adams, sent her horse west to trainer Carl Roles where he saddled him to a number of important stakes including back-to-back editions of the Ramona Handicap.