Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-05
EARNINGS OF RACE RIDERS
JOCKEYS LIFE HAS ITS SUN
SHINE AND SORROWS.
Success of Frank Wootton on the
: English Turf-Memories OF
Poor Fred Archer.
From the London Penny Pictorial.

| Poor Fred Archer.
| From the London Penny Pictorial
! Who wouldn't be jockey at Eloo
week? At this rate of pay. and living
modestly on, say. Go week, one cou'u
retire in five years with small fortune
of G237O0 and pass the remainder OF
ones life in luxurious idleness.
The most wonderful record of any
| jockey in the world is that of the chubby
| faced boy, Frank Wootton whose income.
including special fees and the value oil
presents. was reputed to be Gooo year
before he was fifteen years of age. That
| his income is very great is proved by
the fact that his father some time ago
refused a French racehorse owners offer
of retaining fee of e20OO year for the
lad to ride for him in France.
| 1t is not likely that Frank will give
/ up riding for good many years yet
! however much money he may amass, Tor
! he is as completely in love with his work
as anybody possibly could be. He does
| not have to suffer the torture of priva-
tion-that nightmare of many jockeys
| In order to keep his weight down. lie
| eats. sleeps and amuses himself very
much like other people, and there seems
to be nothing at all in connection with
/ his profession which ever makes him feel
the least bit tired of it. Not even the
nasty accident which befel him few
weeks ago damped his ardor in the least.
| Somebody asked him how much he would
take to abandon the life of the turf. and
he replied. Not all the money in the
world.'
| Although Frank will not be sixteen
years old until December IA he is quite
| globe trotter. He was born in Australia.
where he lived up to a few years ago.
He rode his first winner in South Africa.
when his weight was 4st 9lb. Now he
turns the scale at something over est.
Horse Blood in Them.
| Horse racing seems to be in the Hood
of the Wootton family Franks father is
a race horse owner. and his little brother
Stanley-eighteen months his junor-is
preparing to follow in, Franks footsteps
as jockey. Probably never before has
one family contributed two jockeys of
such very tender age.
| Frank, is however. by no means the
only boy jockey who has achieved great
ness. The immortal Fred Archer started
his marvellous career at the age of
| twelve by winning two races on consecu-
tive days. and in his third year he rode
twenty-five winning mounts. George
FOrdham won his first laurels a Brighton
when he was only thirteen Harry Gus
! lance scored his first win at fifteen and
Tom Cannon leaped into fame at four
| teen.
America, needless to say, has not been
behind in her efforts to lick creation
| in the matter of juvenile jockeys. She
has produced several in recent years who.
at the age of fifteen or sixteen. have
earned over eo.0OO within single year,
and it is believed that George Odom made
fully 5000 in his seventeenth year.
| On the other hand, jockeys have proved
| themselves capable of quite creditable
performances even lin the sere and yell
| low leaf, both John Osborne. aged
seventy-five (who rode the St Leger
winner in 1863 and the Derby winner in
1870 and ]. Buffers who is on the wrong
| side of sixty, having ridden at one of
| the July meetings at Newmarket last
ever, not regular riders in races, although
they ride regularly in exercise gallops.
Training is the less exciting occupation
which now keeps them fairly busy.
Cruel Critics.
1t is not all sunshine. of course. in
the life of even very successful jockey.
He has to put up with lot of cruel
criticism from thoughtless people who
have been greatly disappointed by the
failure of his mount. Horses are of very
varying temperament. and are frequently
affected by quite trifiing incidents. Hence
it may happen that, though jockey be
IL.
to win, and riding the very best horse on
the field, he comes in bad second or
third, simply because his mount, for
some inexplicable reason, would not re-
spond to his riders efforts. How Calling
it must be to the unlucky jockey to have
to bear not only his own disappointment,
but the sneers and innuendoes of I'M
sportsmanlike people who had put bit
of money on.'
Frank Wootton's recent suspension
happily for him, only of a few weeks
reminds one of the seriousness of sus-
pension, especially if it should be for Il
year or two. 1t was doubtless the great
est sorrow of young Woottons racing
|career to be suspended last year, for with
out that misfortune he would probably
have won the championship for 190s-an
unheard-of performance for jockey so
young Even as it was he took second
place with 1aS wins for the season
against D. Makers first place with 13s
wins and w. Higgs third place with
124 wins.
Add to the disappointment of losing his
chance of the championship the fact that
during suspension, his earnings-at the
rate of a few thousand of pounds year
were stopped. and that his prestige pre-
sumabiy also suffers little by reason
of the suspension, it will be seen that
the lot of the jockey who incurs the
displeasure of the jockey club can be
made very sad indeed.
While some jockeys can ride light
without any wasting Whatever, many
have to pay very big price for their
s2OOO to $4,000 a year by making their
lives one continued war with nature. Only
few weeks ago S. Donoghue. the well
known Irish jockey. was taken suddenly
Ill immedia tely after weighing out for
a race, and his doctor ascribed the ill
ness to his forcing his weight down fur
Their than nature could allow.
Poor Fred Archer was martyr to pri-
walton. He regularly took wasting
mixture of wonderful reducing capab
ties. and also spent Il painfully big pro-
portion of his time boiling himself do Wn
in Turkish baths.
The Kettledrum in Music.