Biography

Lexington was the finest racehorse of his day and his prowess as a stallion is unmatched in American history as the sport’s leading sire a record 16 years.

A bay colt bred by Dr. Elisha Warfield, Lexington was a son of Hall of Famer Boston out of the Sarpedon mare Alice Carneal. Under the name Darley, he easily won his first two races in 1853 for trainer Henry Brown, catching the eye of Richard Ten Broeck, who purchased the colt along with partners Gen. Abe Buford, Capt. Willa Viley, and Junius R. Ward for $2,500.

The new owners sent the horse to train under J. B. Pryor. Ten Broeck renamed him Lexington prior to the 1854 Great State Post Stakes, which was traditionally a competition between the best horses from each state. Lexington easily won the race against four others in two four-mile heats. One of the foes he defeated that day was Lecomte, a horse Lexington developed a fierce rivalry with. Lexington lost to Lecomte in a four-mile heat race in his next outing, but defeated him in their next two meetings.

On April 2, 1855, Lexington was sent to Metairie Race Course in New Orleans, where he set a record at four miles with a time of 7:19¾. Lexington, however, had to be retired that year because of poor eyesight, which also plagued his sire.

Lexington began his stud career at Nantura Stock farm in Midway. Kentucky, before being sold in 1856 to Robert A. Alexander for $15,000 to stand at Woodburn Stud. Called “The Blind Hero of Woodburn,” Lexington was the leading sire in North America from 1861 through 1874, and again posthumously in 1876 and 1878. Nine of the first 15 winners of the Travers Stakes were sons or daughters of Lexington, including inaugural Travers winner Kentucky, as well as Duke of Magenta and Harry Bassett.

Overall, Lexington sired the winners of 1,176 races, including three winners of both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. His stallion record becomes even more impressive when it is taken into consideration that some of his prime years at stud occurred during the Civil War when racing was mostly shut down in America. Many of his progeny went into the cavalry and numerous mares carrying his foals were either stolen or lost. Alexander went to great lengths to hide Lexington during the Civil War to avoid having his mighty stallion stolen or killed by marauding soldiers.

When he received word that Confederate soldiers were on their way to Woodburn in the spring of 1863, Alexander and his Woodburn stablehands rode the farm's horses, including Lexington, through the Kentucky countryside during the night to a barge waiting on the Ohio River to have them transported safely to Illinois, where they remained hidden until the war was over.

Lexington was 25 years old when he died July 1, 1875. He was buried at Woodburn near the stables.

Biography

Known as one of the great speed horses of the 19th century, Domino was bred by Maj. Barak G. Thomas at his Hira Villa Stud near Lexington, Kentucky. A dark bay, almost black son of Himyar out of the Enquirer mare Mannie Gray, Domino was purchased as a yearling for $3,000 by James R. Keene and Foxhall Keene and turned over to trainer William “Billy” Lakeland and jockey Fred Taral, who rode him in all but one of his 25 career starts.

Domino despised Taral’s heavy whip and tried to bite the jockey at every opportunity. Later in Domino’s career the relationship between horse and jockey was so bad that a blanket had to be put over Domino’s head before Taral was able to climb aboard.

At the age of 2, in 1893, Domino won all nine of his starts and earned $170,790, which easily bested the record career mark of $139,917 established by Kingston, which was earned in 138 starts. Domino’s wins that year included the Great Eclipse Stakes, Futurity Stakes (the richest race of the year with a purse of $48,910, drawing 19 runners), Great American Stakes, Great Trial Stakes, Hyde Park Stakes, Matron Stakes, and Produce Stakes. In the Matron, at Morris Park, Domino set a new American record of 1:09 flat for six furlongs. Of the Futurity effort, Turf, Field and Farm reported: “Taral seemed to use superhuman efforts and finally landed Domino winner by a head.”

Known as “The Black Whirlwind” because of his dark coat, Domino began his 3-year-old campaign in 1894 with a victory over Belmont Stakes winner Henry of Navarre in the Withers Mile to stretch his win streak to 10. Domino won five of his next seven races, including a dead heat in a match race with Henry of Navarre before a crowd of 20,000 at Sheepshead Bay. Domino and Henry of Navarre met again three weeks after their dead heat. Henry of Navarre won by three-quarters of a length and Domino pulled up lame after the finish.

Along with his win in the Withers, Domino won the Flying Stakes (setting a track record under 130 pounds), Culver Stakes, Ocean Handicap, and Third Special to conclude his 3-year-old season with a  record of 6-0-1 from eight starts and an additional $19,150 in earnings.

Domino returned to the races as a 4-year-old in 1895, winning the Coney Island Handicap and Sheepshead Bay Handicap. He also finished second in the Coney Island Fall Handicap under 133 pounds, while conceding 24 pounds to the winner, The Butterflies. A bad foot led Domino being retired late in 1895.

From 25 career starts, Domino posted a record of 19-2-1 and earnings of $193,550. His career earnings mark stood until Man o’ War surpassed it in 1920 and his juvenile season earnings of $170,790 remained the standard for 38 years until Top Flight came along in 1931.

In retirement at the Keene family’s Castleton Stud near Lexington, Domino was only able to produce 19 foals before he died unexpectedly of spinal meningitis in 1897. Of those 19 foals, eight became stakes winners, including Caps and Bells, the first American-bred to win the English Oaks, and Belmont Stakes winner Commando, a Hall of Fame member who in turn sired a number of top horses, including undefeated Hall of Famer Colin.

The marble headstone on Domino’s gravesite reads: “Here lies the fleetest runner the American turf has ever known, and one of the gamest and most genuine of horses.”

Achievements

Horse of the Year — 1893
Champion 2-Year-Old Male — 1893

Biography

Regarded as the greatest racehorse in America during 1889 and 1890, Salvator won 16 of his final 17 career starts to secure his legacy as one of the finest thoroughbreds of the 19th century.

Bred in Kentucky by Daniel Swigert at Elmendorf Farm, Salvator was purchased as a yearling by James Ben Ali Haggin for $4,500 and turned over to Hall of Fame trainer Matthew Byrnes. A big, handsome chestnut, the horse was originally named Effendi, but was later renamed Salvator after Haggin’s valet.

After losing his first two starts, Salvator was almost perfect the remainder of his career. As a 2-year-old in 1888, he won the Flatbush Stakes, Maple Stakes, Tuckahoe Stakes, and Titan Stakes.

Salvator was the undisputed champion as a 3-year-old in 1889. He won the Tidal Stakes, then defeated Tenny in the Lawrence Realization, giving him 13 pounds. He also won the Lorillard Stakes, Jersey Handicap, and September Stakes that year and finished with a ledger of 7-0-1 from eight starts and earnings of $70,450.

At 4, Salvator was undefeated in five starts and reached the peak of his fame. Under 127 pounds, he won the Suburban by a neck with Tenny third, then beat Tenny by a nose in a 1¼-mile match race in American-record time of 2:05. After a walkover in the Monmouth Cup, he again defeated Tenny, this time by four lengths in the 1½-mile Champion Stakes. In his final start, Salvator set an American record of 1:35⅖ over the mile straight course at Monmouth Park. The mark stood for 28 years.

Salvator was retired with a career record of 16-1-1 from 19 starts and earnings of $113,240. At the time of his retirement, only Hall of Famers Hanover and Miss Woodford had earned more. Salvator went on to sire 14 stakes winners, including 1902 Futurity winner Savable. In 1909, Salvator was exhibited in Kentucky at the Woodford County Fair. He died that year on Sept. 22 at the age of 23.

Achievements

Horse of the Year — 1889
Champion 3-Year-Old Male — 1889
Horse of the Year — 1890
Champion Handicap Male — 1890

Biography

Long before Man o’ War, Citation, Kelso, or Secretariat arrived on the scene there was an equine sensation by the name of Boston who reigned as the undisputed champion of American thoroughbred racing. In the once and distant era of grueling marathon contests, Boston was in a class of his own.

Bred in Virginia by attorney John Wickham, who also initially owned the horse, Boston was lost in a game of cards to Richmond native Nathaniel Rives. Named after a popular card game — not the city — Boston was later known by the moniker of “Old White Nose” because of his blazed face.

To say Boston was difficult to train would be an understatement — evil-tempered would be a more accurate depiction. He regularly threw his exercise riders and on the occasions that didn’t work he would drop to the ground and roll, a tactic that injured a number of would-be passengers. Boston regularly bit humans and other horses, which led one of his early trainers to recommend that Boston be “either castrated or shot, preferably the latter.”

Once he was finally in a formal race, on April 20, 1836, at Broad Rock, Virginia, Boston continued to do things his way. In his first effort, he stopped coldd in the middle of the track and refused to run. Switching tactics, a slave rider named Ned was given the daunting task of breaking Boston. Ned continued to annoy the horse by hooking him up to a cart and having him take people on rides through Richmond and the nearby Virginia countryside in the summer of 1836.

By that fall, Boston had been trained well enough to return to the races, although he always retained his ornery nature. Rives turned Boston over to the Newmarket, Virginia, stable of Col. William R. Johnson, known as the “Napoleon of the Turf.”

With Johnson now as his trainer, Boston developed into the greatest American racehorse of his time. He was undefeated at ages 4 and 5, starting in 15 races, most of which were four-mile heats. Boston dominated his foes in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Camden, New Jersey, and at the Union Course on Long Island.

At one point, Boston had won 36 of 37 contests. As the horse’s fame spread throughout America —  and to England as well — Rives sold his interest in Boston to James Long, who offered to bet $50,000 and run Boston in four-mile heats against any number of horses the English cared to name. There were no takers.

With no suitable competition, Boston was placed at stud in Virginia in the spring of 1841 and covered 42 mares at a fee of $100 each. Late in the summer, he was put back in training and ran five four-mile heat races between Sept. 30 and Oct. 28. Boston won the first four of those events, but his form paled in comparison to before he took time off for stallion duty.

On Oct. 28, 1841, Boston suffered the most crushing defeat of his career at Camden. The first four-mile heat was won by a 4-year-old named John Blount. Fashion was three lengths back, but Boston finished 240 yards in the rear and was declared “outdistanced” and therefore ineligible to run in the remaining heats. Fashion emerged victorious over John Blount in the next two heats to secure the victory.

Col. Johnson and Long moved quickly to get a rematch. Terms called for a match race between Boston and Fashion at the Union Course the following spring with a $20,000 side bet. There was tremendous national interest in the event, which drew more than 70,000 people to Long Island on May 10, 1842.

Nine-year-old Boston carried 126 pounds against the 5-year-old Fashion, who got in with a feathery 111 pounds. Boston, under Hall of Fame jockey Gilbert W. Patrick, hit the rail late in the first heat and opened a sizeable gash on his left side. He competed gamely, but lost by a length. In the process, Fashion set a world record of 7:32½ for the four-mile distance. Fashion secured the victory in the second heat by some 60 yards without being extended by Boston to win in 7:45.

Boston returned to the races only three days later, facing Mariner, a half-brother to Fashion. Boston sulked through the first heat and lost, but blazed back to take the next two contests and win the match. Old White Nose ran three more times in 1842, winning twice. He ran once as a 10-year-old in 1843, winning a three-mile heat competition at Petersburg, Virginia, to run his total earnings to $51,700.

Boston’s success at stud was attained in the face of poor opportunities. In 1841 and 1842, he served two full seasons between racing campaigns. In 1843, Boston stood in Hanover County, Virginia, and in 1844 he was moved to Washington, D.C., where he stood in 1845 and 1846. 

It was not until his final three seasons, when he was blind and feeble, that Old White Nose was afforded quality mares. He was shipped over the mountains during rough winter weather to stand at Col. E. M. Blackburn’s farm in Woodford County, Kentucky, in 1847. Quartered in a stable built of logs and through which wind howled at night, Boston caught a cold that further compromised his health.

By the spring of 1849, Boston could not regain his feet unaided after once lying down. A hammock was improvised in the stable and four ropes were thrown from the rafters to hoist Boston to his feet. Stable boys would then briskly massage his legs until Old White Nose could stand by himself each morning.

It was in this condition in the twilight of his life that Boston sired the great horses Lexington and Lecomte in his final crop. Lexington went on to become the most influential sire in American racing history. In January 1850, Boston was found dead in his stall. He led the sire list, posthumously, in 1851, 1852, and 1853.

Boston, considered by many to be America’s first great racehorse, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1955.

Biography

Originally intended to be a flat racer, Bushranger made his mark when converted to a steeplechaser as a 4-year-old. He went on to become one of the sport's all-time great jumpers.

A chestnut son of Stefan the Great out of the Man o’ War mare War Path, Bushranger was bred and owned by Joseph E. Widener, a prominent campaigner of steeplechasers.

As a 2-year-old in 1932, Bushranger was winless in five starts on the flat. He was then sent to Hall of Fame trainer J. Howard Lewis for a shot at a jumping career. Bushranger did not race as a 3-year-old while learning the nuances of the steeplechase discipline. He returned as a 4-year-old in 1934, posting a record of 4-1-0 from seven starts in minor events.

As a 5-year-old, Bushranger became a stakes winner with victories in the Broad Hollow Handicap and Appleton Memorial Cup. His best season was in 1936, when he won the Brook Steeplechase and carried a then-record 172 pounds to victory in the Grand National. The second-place finisher carried 15 less pounds than Bushranger and every other competitor was saddled with 32 less pounds than the winner. John Hervey wrote in American Race Horses, 1936, that Bushranger was well rated off the pace in the early stages of the Grand National.

“This he resented, being anxious to go on, and at the first water jump he made a poor landing, but recovered quickly and after that fenced perfectly in complete control,” Hervey wrote. “Bushranger was given play, and he rushed past the leaders without ceremony. He had too much strength and speed, and won without being ridden out. The immense crowd greeted this exhibition with tumultuous applause.”

Bushranger also won his second consecutive Broad Hollow Handicap in 1936, carrying 159 pounds while setting a stakes record of 3:42⅗ in the two-mile event. He posted a record of 4-0-0 from five starts that year and was recognized as the best steeplechaser in the land. His brilliant career, however, came to a tragic end when he fractured a leg while schooling at Belmont Park in June 1937.

Overall, Bushranger compiled a record of 11-3-1 and earnings of $20,635 from 21 career starts.

Biography

Billy Kelly was an overshadowed stablemate of America’s first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, and as a result did not receive the notoriety his accomplishments likely would have commanded under different circumstances.

While Sir Barton earned lasting celebrity and a rightful place in the Hall of Fame in 1957, Billy Kelly’s legacy faded into obscurity through the procession of time.

Upon close inspection, however, it becomes evident that Billy Kelly’s achievements more than hold their own in comparison to his acclaimed stablemate and are most worthy of Hall of Fame recognition.

More than 90 years after Billy Kelly’s final race — and almost 60 years after Sir Barton was lauded with his Hall of Fame induction — Billy Kelly finally received his due alongside racing’s immortals as a Hall of Fame member in the Class of 2015.

With a career record of 39-14-7 from 69 starts and earnings of $99,782, Billy Kelly was a durable and dependable runner who excelled under high weight assignments at a variety of distances. He is generally regarded as the finest American sprinter of his era and had success carrying his speed to victory in races up to and including 1¼ miles.

As for his rivalry with Sir Barton, Billy Kelly more often than not proved superior. In the 12 races they competed in the same field, Billy Kelly either won outright or finished ahead of Sir Barton eight times. In six of those eight events, Billy Kelly either conceded weight (as much as 18 pounds) to Sir Barton or met him on equal terms.

Foaled in 1916 at Woodlawn Farm in Erlanger, Kentucky, Billy Kelly was purchased as a yearling for $1,500 by W. F. Polson and sent to trainer William Perkins. A bay gelding small in stature, Billy Kelly “looked like a lean mule,” according to a contemporary account when he arrived at the races as a 2-year-old.

Billy Kelly made his career debut at the old Kentucky Association track at Lexington in April 1918. He won that first start with ease and then added an allowance victory before stepping up to stakes competition. An eight-length win in the Idle Hour Stakes at Lexington and a four-length victory in the Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs — two of the premier events for juveniles on the Kentucky spring schedule at the time — suggested Billy Kelly was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

At Saratoga that summer, Billy Kelly competed five times in a 20-day span. He began by setting a track record of 1:05⅗ for 5½ furlongs in winning the Flash Stakes. Two days later, he won the United States Hotel Stakes by 1½ lengths. Four days after his second Spa win, Billy Kelly contested the Albany Handicap under 133 pounds and finished second by a length to Star Hampton (115 pounds).

The defeat in the Albany Handicap in no way tarnished Billy Kelly’s growing reputation. In fact, the valiant effort in what was his third race in seven days prompted Commander J. K. L. Ross, a prominent Canadian owner, to purchase Billy Kelly from Polson for $27,500.

Ross turned Billy Kelly over to trainer H. Guy Bedwell and continued the horse on his summer campaign at Saratoga. Seven days after his loss in the Albany Handicap, Billy Kelly splashed through the mud to win by eight lengths in the Sanford Memorial Stakes under 130 pounds. He then carried 135 pounds — conceding a range of 14 to 35 pounds — to his rivals in winning the Grab Bag Handicap to wrap up his Saratoga sojourn with four wins and a second in three weeks.

Billy Kelly then won three in a row in September at Havre de Grace in Maryland, including the Eastern Shore Handicap under 135 pounds. Next it was on to Laurel Park for wins in the Annapolis Stakes and the all-ages Columbia Handicap in October. Billy Kelly’s seven-race win streak was snapped when he finished second by a head to Eternal in the John R. McLean Memorial. He rebounded to defeat future champion Mad Hatter in an allowance race Nov. 5 at Pimlico in his final start of 1918. Billy Kelly concluded his remarkable 2-year-old season with a record of 14-2-0 from 17 starts and earnings of $33,783.

When the calendar turned to 1919, Billy Kelly continued his winning ways with victories against older horses in the Hartford and Philadelphia handicaps at Havre de Grace, conceding weight each time. Ross then entered both Billy Kelly and Sir Barton in the Kentucky Derby. It was expected that Sir Barton would set a fast pace and wear down the competition for Billy Kelly to come running late. However, Sir Barton pulled away and was never reeled in. He won by five lengths with Billy Kelly second. It was a monumental day for the Ross stable, marking the first time in Kentucky Derby history that horses carrying the same colors finished first and second.

While Sir Barton went on to win the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes to become America’s first Triple Crown winner (the term was not popularized until Gallant Fox duplicated the achievement in 1930), Billy Kelly also continued to run well. Following the Derby, he won the Toboggan and Capital handicaps and also earned victories that year over Sir Barton and Sun Briar, the previous year’s Travers Stakes winner.

Billy Kelly began his 4-year-old season of 1920 with a pair of victories at Havre de Grace, including his second consecutive Hartford Handicap, in which he defeated 1914 Kentucky Derby winner Old Rosebud. Later in the year, Billy Kelly competed in three serial weight-for-age races in a 10-day span at Pimlico, winning twice and finishing second once. He won the first race under 139 pounds, finished second to Mad Hatter in the second event and defeated both Sir Barton and Mad Hatter in the third race of the series, which was Sir Barton’s final career start.

Still going strong as a 5-year-old, Billy Kelly began 1921 with six consecutive victories. He carried 130 pounds or more four times during the stretch, including 132 in winning the Hartford Handicap for the third year in a row, and 135 pounds during his victory in the Connaught Handicap at Blue Bonnets in Montreal. Billy Kelly added three more wins later in the year, among them a second victory in the Capital Handicap.

In his only race of 1922, Billy Kelly’s attempt at winning a fourth consecutive Hartford Handicap came up a length short, as the brilliant Exterminator prevailed. Billy Kelly did not race again for more than 17 months. He returned Sept. 22, 1923, at Blue Bonnets, and won his final career race in a minor handicap event. Billy Kelly finished second and then third in his final two career starts that October at Laurel before being retired.

Billy Kelly died in 1926 at the age of 10 at a farm owned by Ross at Verchères, a small hamlet about 20 miles from Montreal. He was buried on the farm’s property on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River.

Achievements

Champion 2-Year-Old Male — 1918

Notable

Won the Hartford Handicap — 1919, 1920, 1921
Won the Capitol Handicap — 1919, 1921
Won the Annapolis Handicap — 1918
Won the Bashford Manor Stakes — 1918
Won the Columbia Handicap — 1918
Won the Eastern Shore Handicap — 1918
Won the Flash Stakes — 1918
Won the Grab Bag Handicap — 1918
Won the Idle Hour Stakes — 1918
Won the Sanford Stakes — 1918
Won the United States Hotel Stakes — 1918
Won the Philadelphia Handicap — 1919
Won the Susquehanna Handicap — 1919
Won the Toboggan Handicap — 1919
Won the Aero Handicap — 1921
Won the Connaught Handicap — 1921
Won the King George Stakes — 1921

Biography

The story of Lava Man is a rags-to-riches tale of a former claimer who began his career at a county fair and went on to defy the odds and become one of the most successful and popular racehorses of the first decade of the 21^st century.

A gelded son of Slew City Slew out of the Nostalgia’s Star mare L’il Ms. Leonard, Lava Man was bred in California by Lonnie Arterburn, Eve Kuhlmann, and Kim Kuhlmann and trained by Arterburn until he was claimed during his 3-year-old season for $50,000 by trainer Doug O’Neill for STD Racing Stable and partner Jason Wood.

Lava Man became a fan favorite, winning seven Grade 1 races — setting a record for a California-bred — and compiled a career record of 17-8-5 from 47 starts with earnings of $5,268,706. Among California-bred horses, only Hall of Famers Tiznow and Best Pal and 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome have higher career earnings.

Lava Man won three consecutive editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup (2005 through 2007), matching a feat Hall of Famer Native Diver accomplished from 1965 through 1967. He also won back-to-back runnings of the Santa Anita Handicap in 2006 and 2007.

“What an amazing honor,” trainer Doug O’Neill said of Lava Man being elected to the Hall of Fame. “He’s family to me and to everyone connected with him. You are lucky if you get a horse like this once in a lifetime.”

O’Neill praised Steve Kenly, one of the partners in STD Racing, for noticing Lava Man.

“All credit goes to Steve Kenly. He picked him out and really liked him,” O’Neill said. “He was looking for a nice Cal-bred at the time and Lava Man was that and so much more.”

As a 2-year-old, Lava Man made his career debut in June 2003 in a $12,500 maiden claiming race at the San Joaquin County Fair in Stockton, California, by finishing fourth at odds of 36-1. Lava Man broke his maiden in his fifth career start, winning a maiden special weight at Bay Meadows in his final race as a 2-year-old. 

Lava Man was claimed by O’Neill after finishing second in a race at Del Mar in August 2004. He returned to the track for his new owners a month later with a victory in the Fairplex Park Derby Trial. Lava Man ran four more times that year, finishing second three times and third once. 

As a 4-year-old, Lava Man began to generate some buzz when he scored his first graded victory in the Californian Stakes at Hollywood Park in 2005. He won the first of his three Hollywood Gold Cups in his next start, earnings his first Grade 1 win with a record eight-length win with a 120 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

In 2006, Lava Man continued his brilliance at the age of 5 by winning the Santa Anita Handicap, Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, Pacific Classic, and Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap. He became the first horse since Vanlandingham 21 years earlier to win a Grade 1 on both dirt and turf in the same year. Lava Man was also the first horse to win the Hollywood Gold Cup, Santa Anita Handicap, and Pacific Classic in the same year. In the Santa Anita Handicap, he defeated the favored High Limit, as well as 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Wilko.

Lava Man came back as a 6-year-old in 2007 to win the Santa Anita Handicap for a second time and the Hollywood Gold Cup for a third time. He was named California Horse of the Year in 2005 and 2006; California Champion Older Horse in 2005, 2006, and 2007; and California Champion Turf Horse in 2006.

Achievements

Won the Hollywood Gold Cup — 2005, 2006, 2007
Won the Santa Anita Handicap — 2006, 2007
Won the Californian Stakes — 2005
Won the Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap — 2006
Won the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap — 2006
Won the Pacific Classic — 2006
Won the Sunshine Millions Classic — 2006

Horse Profile for Lava Man | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

At age 13, standing barely four feet tall, and weighing but 58 pounds, Johnny Reiff rode his first winner in Chicago in 1898. Known as the “Midget Wonder,” Reiff was brought to the races by his older brother, Lester. After the younger Reiff rode 33 winners in California, the brothers went to England in June of 1899.

The following year, Lester Reiff was the leading rider in England with 143 winners and Johnny was third in the standings with 124 wins. Lester Reiff won the 1901 Epsom Derby with Volodyovski, but he was ruled off the turf that season. Johnny, in protest, thereafter rode mainly in France. He did, however, return to win the Epsom Derby in 1907 with Orby and 1912 with Tagalie, as well as the 1913 Two Thousand Guineas with Louvois.

In France, Reiff was the leading rider in 1902 when he won the French Derby with Retz. He ranked in the top 10 in France for 10 consecutive years.

In 1913, Reiff won the French Oaks with Moia and was second in the jockey standings to fellow Hall of Famer Frank O’Neill for the third time. He returned to America briefly in 1903 to win 28 races in Chicago while in a contract dispute with his French patrons. He also won the Kentucky Oaks that year with Lemco. 

Achievements

Won the Epsom Derby — 1907, 1912
Won the French Derby — 1902
Won the Kentucky Oaks — 1903

Biography

John Linus “Pony” McAtee competed and more than held his own against the likes of Hall of Fame riders Earl Sande, Laverne Fator, and Sonny Workman in a career that spanned from 1914 through 1932.

Born in Frenchtown, New Jersey, in 1898, McAtee became a contact rider for the powerful stable of Commander J. K. L. Ross, for whom he won the 1916 Preakness Stakes with Damrosch. McAtee later rode for such prominent owners as Hall of Fame members Harry Payne Whitney and Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, as well as George D. Widener and R. L. Gerry.

McAtee considered Hall of Famers Exterminator and Twenty Grand the best of the champions he rode, and his victory in the 1930 Metropolitan Handicap aboard Jack High the best race he ever rode. McAtee won the Kentucky Derby in 1927 aboard Whiskery and in 1929 aboard Clyde Van Dusen. He was North America’s leading rider in 1928 with $301,295.

Three times each he won the Alabama, Belmont Futurity, Champagne, Saratoga Special, and Flash Stakes. McAtee was still at the top of his profession at age 35 when he retired in 1932 with 930 wins.

Achievements

North America's leading rider in earnings — 1928

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the 1927 Kentucky Derby — Whiskery
Won the 1929 Kentucky Derby — Clyde Van Dusen
Won the 1916 Preakness Stakes — Damrosch

Other Highlights

Won the Alabama Stakes — 1920, 1926, 1930
Won the Futurity Stakes — 1924, 1928, 1930
Won the Metropolitan Handicap — 1918, 1930
Won the Kentucky Oaks — 1921

Biography

When Ted Atkinson in 1944 became North America’s leading rider in both money earned and races won, he joined a small group of jockeys to have led in both categories during the 20th century. When he repeated the achievement in 1946, Atkinson also became the first rider in history whose mounts earned more than $1 million in a single year.

Atkinson was raised in a household of eight children with no ties to racing, but he began to pursue the sport as a teenager after it was suggested to him while he worked in a chemical plant in Brooklyn, New York The diminutive Atkinson, barely 100 pounds at the time, was loading trucks with 50-pound containers of bleach when a driver told him his physical traits of a small stature with good strength would serve him well as a jockey. Atkinson followed the advice and soon began an apprenticeship breaking yearlings for Greentree Stable, launching what became a most prolific career in the irons.

Born in Toronto but raised in New York City, Atkinson won his first race at the age of 21 on May 18, 1938, at Beulah Park in Ohio. The victory was in a six-furlong claiming race worth $1,000 aboard a 4-year-old gelding named Musical Jack. Atkinson went on to win 3,795 races in a remarkable 22-year career that included victories in the 1949 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes with Capot. Atkinson’s first major victory took place inthe 1941 Narragansett Special when he rode War Relic to an upset victory over Triple Crown winner Whirlaway.

For more than half his career, Atkinson was the first-call rider for Greentree and piloted stable stars such as Hall of Famer Tom Fool and Horse of the Year Capot. Other standouts ridden by Atkinson included Devil Diver, Gallorette, Coaltown, Nashua, Bold Ruler, Hill Gail, One Hitter, War Relic, Hall of Fame, By Jimminy, and Ace Admiral, among others.

Atkinson was the only jockey to ever ride Tom Fool, the 1953 Horse of the Year. That year, they teamed up to win the New York Handicap Triple Crown, consisting of the Metropolitan Handicap, Suburban Handicap, and Brooklyn Handicap. Tom Fool also won the Whitney and Pimlico Special that year and was undefeated in a 10-start campaign, all of which were stakes races.

Of Tom Fool, Atkinson said: “On his best day, none of the other horses I ever rode, on their best days, could measure up with him.”

In 1957, Atkinson was elected to the Hall of Fame, becoming the first active jockey to receive the honor. He retired as a rider two years later. In 1961, he became a racing steward in Illinois, a position he held until retiring in 1976.

Atkinson died in 2005 at the age of 88. In the Thoroughbred Times, journalist Bill Mooney said Atkinson was “one of the finest jockeys of any generation and he possessed an intellect that accorded respect from virtually everyone he met.”

Achievements

North America's leading jockey in earnings — 1944, 1946
North America's leading jockey in wins — 1944, 1946

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the 1949 Preakness Stakes — Capot
Won the 1949 Belmont Stakes — Capot

Oher Highlights

Won the Carter Handicap — 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1957
Won the Sanford Stakes — 1943, 1949, 1951, 1956
Won the Ladies’ Handicap — 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948
Won the Dwyer Stakes — 1944, 1945, 1948, 1956
Won the Youthful Stakes — 1944, 1945, 1948, 1956
Won the Fashion Stakes — 1942, 1953 1955
Won the Metropolitan Handicap — 1944, 1945, 1953
Won the Lawrence Realization Stakes — 1946, 1948, 1956
Won the Brooklyn Handicap — 1948, 1950, 1953
Won the Manhattan Handicap — 1948, 1950, 1956
Won the Diana Stakes — 1949, 1952, 1955
Won the Champagne Stakes — 1943, 1948
Won the Suburban Handicap — 1952, 1953, 1954
Won the Beldame Stakes — 1944, 1947
Won the Travers Stakes — 1946, 1948
Won the Futurity Stakes  — 1949, 1951
Won the Whitney Handicap — 1951, 1953