Horse Racing Loses a Legend and Friend

The story has come out in drips and drabs over the years, probably with some exaggeration, but finally, not long ago, Bill Shoemaker elaborated on how he had worked his Kentucky Derby horse in a tuxedo.

“I don’t know if you could really call it a tuxedo,” Shoemaker said. “I did take off the dress coat and the cummerbund, you know.”

This was April 27, 1965, four days before the Derby. Shoemaker already had won the race twice, with Swaps and Tomy Lee, and now was going for a third win with Lucky Debonair. There had been a dinner party that night, but the whoopee didn’t stop with that, and by 4:30 a.m. it was getting close to the time Lucky Debonair was supposed to have a seven-furlong workout, his final heavy-duty exercise for the Derby.

Shoemaker wouldn’t identify the friend who said, “Why don’t we just go straight to Churchill [Downs]?” Alex Harthill, the crack veterinarian and longtime Shoemaker crony, always has been the No. 1 suspect, but Shoemaker never said and Harthill has kept his secrecy vow as well.

Going on to 5 o’clock, Shoemaker and his buddy arrived at trainer Frank Catrone’s barn, looking for Lucky Debonair. Shoemaker left his frilly white shirt, suspenders, black pants and patent-leather shoes on, climbed aboard the colt and brought him back after doing seven furlongs in 1:25 1/5. There were few witnesses.

“I remember that it was really cold,” said Shoemaker. “And it was still very dark. Hell, you couldn’t see from here to there.”

And by the way, on May 1, Shoemaker left the tuxedo at the hotel as he and Lucky Debonair beat Dapper Dan by a neck.

The Lucky Debonair caper was typical of the imp in Shoemaker, who died on Sunday at 72 at his home in San Marino. He was as small as a child and practiced good-natured mischief as though he had never left short pants.

Even the wheelchair, which transported him after he was paralyzed in an automobile accident in 1991, didn’t completely slow him down. It was a puff-controlled chair, and your feet were fair game if he was close to you in a room.

Bob Kerlan, his doctor and good friend, was a frequent target. “You never knew,” Kerlan once said, “what Shoe was going to hit you with next.”

More than once, as Kerlan sat in the jockeys’ room, playing cards with some of the riders, Shoemaker would pour part of a ketchup bottle into one of the doctor’s sport-coat pockets. He was so clever that Kerlan wouldn’t notice the inconvenience until much later.

Sandy Hawley, a Hall of Fame rider like Shoemaker, befriended Shoemaker on a flight from Toronto to Los Angeles, and was still done in. Shoemaker, having just left Woodbine where he rode in a stake, attempted to board the plane with a duffel bag that had his whip attached. The airline was going to send Shoemaker back to check-in with this questionable gear, but Hawley, a well-known Canadian native, was able to intervene and assure the crew that Shoemaker was no threat.

During the flight, Hawley dozed off. He awoke near LAX with whipped cream from dessert planted on his forehead.

Shoemaker was famous for throwing quips at fellow riders in the midst of races. As he sailed past a jockey with a tiring horse one day, he yelled out: “Got a tee time at 8:45 in the morning. Wanna come?”

In the 1962 Santa Anita Handicap, however, the Shoe was on the other foot. Physician, Olden Times and Prove It were a three-horse entry, ridden respectively by Don Pierce, Alex Maeze and Shoemaker.

It was not uncommon at the time for riders with coupled entries to “save,” which meant sharing purse money they might earn.

Shoemaker and Maeze liked their horses, but they didn’t think Pierce’s horse had much of a chance and excluded him from the bargain.

On the last turn, Physician and Pierce went by Prove It and Shoemaker as if they were standing still.

“You’re in!” Shoemaker yelled to Pierce as Physician set off for the finish line.

Pierce yelled back an obscenity. The two good friends laughed about that one for years. Wonder if Kerlan’s ketchup ever found its way into Pierce’s pocket instead?

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Leading Jockeys

BY VICTORIES ALL TIME:

*--* Laffit Pincay Jr. 9,530 BILL SHOEMAKER 8,833 Pat Day 8,554 Russell Baze 8,422 David Gall 7,396 Chris McCarron 7,141 Angel Cordero Jr. 7,057 Jorge Velasquez 6,795 Sandy Hawley 6,449 Larry Snyder 6,388

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FACTS & FIGURES

Some of Bill Shoemaker’s statistics and accomplishments in his 42 years as a jockey:

BY THE NUMBERS

*--* 2 Second in all-time jockey victories, 8,833. 5 Times leading North American jockeys in wins (1950, ‘53, ‘54, ’58 and ‘59). 9 Times won six races on one card. 10 Times led North American jockeys in purse earnings, including seven consecutive years, 1958-1964. 11 Triple Crown victories (Kentucky Derby 4, Preakness 2, Belmont 5) 17 Consecutive years leading jockey standings at Santa Anita, 1951-1967. 26 Kentucky Derby mounts, a record. 54 Age at which he became the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, aboard Ferdinand in 1986. 8,000 First jockey to reach victory milestone, doing it at Hollywood Park on May 27, 1981, aboard War Allied. $1 million First jockey to win a thoroughbred race with a purse of that amount, winning the Arlington Million aboard John Henry in 1981. $100 million First jockey with earnings of that amount.

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YEAR BY YEAR

*--* Year Mts 1st 2nd 3rd W% Amount 1949 1,089 219 195 147 20% $458,010 1950 1,640 388 266 230 24% $844,040 1951 1,161 257 197 161 22% $1,329,890 1952 1,322 315 224 174 24% $1,049,304 1953 1,683 485 302 210 29% $1,784,187 1954 1,251 380 221 142 30% $1,876,760 1955 1,149 307 178 138 27% $1,846,884 1956 1,229 328 187 165 27% $2,113,335 1957 1,191 295 183 134 25% $2,544,782 1958 1,133 300 185 137 26% $2,961,693 1959 1,285 347 230 159 27% $2,843,133 1960 1,227 274 196 158 22% $2,123,961 1961 1,256 304 186 175 24% $2,690,819 1962 1,126 311 156 128 28% $2,916,844 1963 1,203 271 193 137 23% $2,526,925 1964 1,056 246 147 133 23% $2,649,553 1965 1,069 247 161 120 23% $2,228,977 1966 1,037 221 158 107 21% $2,671,198 1967 1,044 244 146 113 23% $3,052,108 1968 104 19 14 11 18% $175,950 1969 454 97 63 58 21% $1,047,949 1970 952 219 133 106 23% $2,063,194 1971 881 195 136 104 22% $2,931,590 1972 869 172 137 111 20% $2,519,384 1973 639 139 95 73 22% $2,016,874 1974 922 160 126 108 17% $2,558,862 1975 957 215 142 124 22% $3,514,213 1976 1,035 200 154 146 19% $3,815,645 1977 975 172 149 142 18% $3,633,091 1978 1245 271 194 156 22% $5,231,390 1979 983 168 141 118 17% $4,480,825 1980 1,052 159 140 132 15% $5,188,883 1981 878 156 117 99 18% $6,122,481 1982 717 113 110 88 16% $4,691,342 1983 779 125 96 96 16% $4,277,930 1984 831 108 102 96 13% $4,324,667 1985 721 80 91 83 11% $4,487,095 1986 708 114 97 79 16% $7,029,211 1987 630 100 88 79 16% $7,169,434 1988 585 68 59 77 12% $4,012,138 1989 277 42 40 33 15% $1,495,458 1990 6 2 1 1 33% $75,515 Totals 40,350 8,833 6,136 4,987 22% $123,375,524

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HONORS

* Elected to horse racing’s Hall of Fame in 1958.

* Received special Eclipse awards for contribution to racing in 1976 and 1981.

* Won Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey in 1981.

* Became first jockey in 50 years to be honored by the Thoroughbred Club of America in 1982.

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MAJOR STAKES VICTORIES

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ALABAMA (2) -- Primonetta (1961), Gamely (1962).

ARLINGTON HANDICAP (1) -- Palikaraki (1983).

ARLINGTON MILLION (1) -- John Henry (1981).

BELDAME (4) -- Thelma Burger (1951), Pucker Up (1957), Cicada (1962), Love Sign (1981).

BELMONT (5) -- Gallant Man (1957), Sword Dancer (1959), Jaipur (1962), Damascus (1967), Avatar (1975).

BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC (1) -- Ferdinand (1987).

CALIFORNIAN (1) -- The Wonder (1983).

CHARLES H. STRUB (5) -- Gun Bow (1964), Bold Bidder (1966), Unconscious (1972), Stardust Mel (1975), Spectacular Bid (1980).

FANTASY (1) -- Jeanne Jones (1988).

FLOWER BOWL (1) -- Scoot (1986).

FUTURITY (3) -- Internationally (1958), Never Bend (1962), Captain’s Gig (1967).

HOLLYWOOD DERBY (1) -- Thrill Show (1986).

HOLLYWOOD FUTURITY (1) -- Temperate Sil (1986).

HOLLYWOOD OAKS (1) -- Hidden Light (1986).

HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP (8) -- Swaps (1956), Round Table (1957), Gallant Man (1958), Ack Ack (1971), Kennedy Road (1973), Tree of Knowledge (1974), Exceller (1978), Ferdinand (1987).

HOLLYWOOD TURF CUP (1) -- Alphabatim (1986).

ISELIN HANDICAP (1) -- Roo Art (1986).

JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP (4) -- Gallant Man (1957), Damascus (1967), Exceller (1978), John Henry (1981).

KENTUCKY DERBY (4) -- Swaps (1955), Tomy Lee (1959), Lucky Debonair (1965), Ferdinand (1986).

KENTUCKY OAKS (1) -- Blush With Pride (1982).

MARLBORO CUP (2) -- Forego (1976), Spectacular Bid (1979).

MATRIARCH (2) -- Sangue (1983), Nastique (1988).

MATRON (1) -- Cicada (1961).

METROPOLITAN (3) -- Gallant Man (1958), Sword Dancer (1959), Forego (1977).

OAK TREE (1) -- John Henry (1982).

PREAKNESS (2) -- Candy Spots (1963), Damascus (1967).

SANTA ANITA DERBY (8) -- Terrang (1956), Silky Sullivan (1958), Tompion (1960), Candy Spots (1963), Lucky Debonair (1965), Terlago (1970), Habitony (1977), Temperate Sil (1987).

SANTA ANITA HANDICAP (11) -- Rejected (1954), Poona II (1955), Round Table (1958), Prove It (1961), Lucky Debonair (1966), Pretense (1967), Ack Ack (1971), Stardust Mel (1975), Spectacular Bid (1980), John Henry (1982), Lord At War (1985).

SUNSET HANDICAP (1) -- Swink (1987).

SWAPS (1) -- Temperate Sil (1987).

TRAVERS (3) -- Gallant Man (1957), Jaipur (1962), Damascus (1967).

WOODWARD (5) -- Clem (1958), Damascus (1967), Forego (1976, ‘77), Spectacular Bid (1980).

YELLOW RIBBON (2) -- Sangue (1983), Estrapade (1985).