Bill Shoemaker - wikipedia Bill Shoemaker Bill Shoemaker Shoemaker in 1986 Occupation jockey ( 1931 - 08 - 19 ) August 19, 1931 Fabens, Texas, United States October 12, 2003 ( 2003 - 10 - 12 ) ( aged 72 ) San Marino, California, United States Career wins 8,833 Major racing wins Arlington Handicap ( 4 ) Bing Crosby Handicap ( 3 ) Blue Grass Stakes ( 6 ) Carleton F. Burke Handicap ( 7 ) Clement L. Hirsch Handicap ( 4 ) Del Mar Debutante Stakes ( 5 ) Del Mar Futurity ( 6 ) Del Mar Handicap ( 8 ) Del Mar Oaks ( 4 ) Hollywood Derby ( 8 ) Hollywood Gold Cup ( 8 ) Jockey Club Gold Cup ( 4 ) Oak Tree Invitational Stakes ( 8 ) Palomar Breeders ' Cup Handicap ( 5 ) Ramona Handicap ( 5 ) San Diego Handicap ( 4 ) San Luis Obispo Handicap ( 8 ) Santa Anita Derby ( 8 ) Santa Anita Handicap ( 11 ) United Nations Handicap ( 3 ) American Classics / Breeders ' Cup wins : Kentucky Derby ( 1955, 1959, 1965, 1986 ) Preakness Stakes ( 1963, 1967 ) Belmont Stakes ( 1957, 1959, 1962, 1967, 1975 ) Breeders ' Cup Classic ( 1987 ) Racing awards United States Champion Jockey by earnings ( 10 years ) United States Champion Jockey by wins ( 1950, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959 ) George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award ( 1951 ) Big Sport of Turfdom Award ( 1969 ) Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey ( 1981 ) Eclipse Award of Merit ( 1981 ) Mike Venezia Memorial Award ( 1990 ) Honours National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame ( 1958 ) Shoemaker Breeders ' Cup Stakes at Hollywood Park Lifesize bust at Santa Anita Park Significant horses Swaps, Round Table, Northern Dancer, Buckpasser, Ack Ack, Ferdinand, Cicada, Damascus, Gallant Man, Sword Dancer, Forego, Jaipur, John Henry, Spectacular Bid, Gamely, Silky Sullivan, Candy Spots, Tom Rolfe William Lee `` Bill '' Shoemaker ( August 19, 1931 -- October 12, 2003 ) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Contents 1 Biography 2 After 1990 jockey retirement 3 Honors 4 References 5 External links Biography Jayne Mansfield with jockeys Johnny Longden, Eddie Arcaro and Willie Shoemaker ( left to right ) in 1957 Referred to as `` Bill '', `` Willie, '' and `` The Shoe '', William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 38 ounces ( 1.1 kg ), Shoemaker was so small at birth that he was not expected to survive the night. Put in a shoebox in the oven to stay warm, he survived, but remained small, growing to 4 feet 10 inches ( 1.47 m ) and weighing 91 pounds ( 41 kg ). His diminutive size proved an asset as he went on to become a giant in thoroughbred horse racing, despite dropping out of El Monte High School in El Monte, California. His career as a jockey began in his teenage years, with his first professional ride on March 19, 1949. The first of his eventual 8,833 career victories came a month later, on April 20, aboard Shafter V, at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. In 1951, he won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. At the age of 19, he was making so much money ( as much as $2,500 each week ) the Los Angeles Superior Court appointed attorney Horace Hahn as his guardian, with the consent of his parents. Thirty years later, he won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in the United States. Shoemaker won eleven Triple Crown races during his career, spanning four different decades, but the Crown itself eluded him. The breakdown of these wins is as follows : Kentucky Derby : Swaps ( 1955 ), Tomy Lee ( 1959 ), Lucky Debonair ( 1965 ) and Ferdinand ( 1986 ) Preakness Stakes : Candy Spots ( 1963 ) and Damascus ( 1967 ) Belmont Stakes : Gallant Man ( 1957 ), Sword Dancer ( 1959 ), Jaipur ( 1962 ), Damascus ( 1967 ) and Avatar ( 1975 ) Two of Shoemaker 's most noted rides were in the Kentucky Derby. He lost the 1957 Kentucky Derby aboard Gallant Man, when he stood up in the stirrups too soon, having misjudged the finish line, where Gallant Man finished second to Iron Liege, ridden by Bill Hartack. At the 1986 Kentucky Derby, Shoemaker became the oldest jockey ever to win the race ( at age 54 ) aboard the 18 - 1 outsider Ferdinand. The following year, he rode Ferdinand to a victory over Alysheba in the Breeders ' Cup Classic ; Ferdinand later captured Horse of the Year honors. Shoemaker rode the popular California horse Silky Sullivan, about which he is quoted as saying : `` You just had to let him run his race... and if he decided to win it, you 'd better hold on because you 'd be moving faster than a train. '' When Shoemaker earned his 6,033 rd victory in September 1970, he broke jockey Johnny Longden 's record. In 1999, Shoemaker 's own record of 8,833 career victories was broken by Panamanian - born Laffit Pincay Jr. ; the record is currently held by Russell Baze. Win number 8,833, Shoemaker 's last, came at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida, on January 20, 1990 aboard Beau Genius. Two weeks later, on February 3, Shoemaker rode his last race on Patchy Groundfog, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. He finished fourth, in front of a record crowd, to Eddie Delahoussaye, on Exemplary Leader. All told, Bill Shoemaker rode in a record 40,350 races. In 1990, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award for `` extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship ''. The Marlboro Cup of 1976 at Belmont Park proved to be maybe his greatest racing achievement, and it was upon the mighty Forego. Forego 's drive started from eighth position out of eleven horses on the backstretch. It culminated with a tremendous charge through the muddy middle - of - the - track stretch run, leading to a victory by a nose over the dead - game Honest Pleasure. Shoemaker was quoted as saying that Forego was the best horse he had ever ridden. After 1990 jockey retirement Soon after retiring as a jockey in 1990, Shoemaker returned to the track as a trainer, where he had modest success, training for such clients as Gulfstream magnate Allen Paulson and composer Burt Bacharach. He continued to train racehorses until his retirement on Nov. 2, 1997. His final stats as a trainer were 90 wins from 714 starters and earnings of $3.7 million. Shoemaker was involved in a solo drunk - driving car accident on April 8, 1991, in San Dimas, California, when he rolled over the Bronco II he was driving. The accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, and he thereafter used a wheelchair. Shoemaker sued Ford, and Ford settled with Shoemaker for US $ 1,000,000. Shoemaker authored three murder mysteries. They were often compared to the large stable of best - selling horse mysteries by fellow jockey / author Dick Francis. Shoemaker 's Stalking Horse ( 1994 ), Fire Horse ( 1995 ), and Dark Horse ( 1996 ) all featured jockey - turned - sleuth Coley Killebrew using his racetrack experience in and about his restaurant and the horse world. Honors Shoemaker was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1958. He was immortalized as part of a series of portraits by Andy Warhol in the mid-1970s. References Shoemaker, Bill and Nagler, Barney. Shoemaker ( 1988 ) Doubleday ISBN 0 - 385 - 23945 - 9 ESPN story Shoemaker made racing history by Ron Flatter Del Mar Media Guide Jump up ^ `` About Golden Gate Fields. '' Retrieved 2012 - 02 - 07. Jump up ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Saturday, June 2, 1951, pg 11, `` Shoemaker Makes Too Much Money '' Jump up ^ Warhol 's Giant ' Sports Cards ' for Sale - Famed artist Andy Warhol convinced some of the... Sports Collectors Daily Warhol, Andy, Art, Artist, Were - Sports Collectors Dail... External links Bill Shoemaker at Find a Grave Preceded by Mike Venezia Jockeys ' Guild President 1981 - 1989 Succeeded by Jerry Bailey Preceded by Johnny Longden Most victories in Horse - racing 8,833 Succeeded by Laffit Pincay, Jr. LCCN : n87938530 VIAF : 143167427 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Shoemaker&oldid=842079249 '' Categories : American jockeys American Champion jockeys American people of Dutch descent United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Eclipse Award winners People from El Paso, Texas People with tetraplegia 1931 births 2003 deaths People from El Monte, California Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2007 Find a Grave template with ID not in Wikidata Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Deutsch Español Italiano Malagasy 日本 語 Русский Winaray Edit links This page was last edited on 20 May 2018, at 02 : 41. 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Question: who is the oldest jockey to win the kentucky derby
Answer: Shoemaker