Willie (Bill) Shoemaker
August 19, 1931 - October 12, 2003

Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2 pounds, Shoemaker was so small at birth that he wasn't expected to live more than a few hours. Kept in a shoebox near a fire to stay warm, he survived, but remained small, growing to be 4 feet 11 inches and weighing only 95 pounds.

His career as a jockey began in his teens, with his first professional ride on March 19, 1949. The first of his career victories came a month later - on April 20 - on a horse named Shafter V. The Golden Gate Fields Winners Circle is named for him commemorating his first win there at age 18.

Shoemaker rode 8,833 winners, 1,009 of them in stakes races and 250 with purses of $100,000 or more. He also won 10 national money titles and over $123 million in purses. He was the first jockey to win over $100 million. With his successes came many well-deserved accolades. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1958 and the phrase "It's a Shoein" was coined, indicating that an event was certain to happen. He also won Eclipse Awards in 1976 and 1981, the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1951 and the Mike Venezia Award in 1990.

Shoemaker won 11 Triple Crown races during his career, but the Crown itself eluded him.

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) He also won the Jockey Club Gold Cup four times, the Santa Anita Handicap eleven times, and the Santa Anita Derby and Hollywood Gold Cup eight times each.

Two of Shoemaker's most noted rides during his career were at the Kentucky Derby. He lost the 1957 Kentucky Derby, aboard the mount Gallant Man, when he stood up in the stirrups too soon, having misjudged the finish line. He and Gallant Man ended up finishing second to Bill Hartack aboard Iron Liege. At the 1986 Kentucky Derby, Shoemaker nursed an 18/1 shot, a colt named Ferdinand, to victory. It was one of sport's most memorable achievements. It would have been a historic feat, no matter who was in the saddle, but, coming as it did from the gifted hands of the world's greatest jockey at the advanced athletic age of 54, the feat took on miracle proportions. The sports world was awed and delighted. The following year, he rode Ferdinand to a victory over Alysheba in the Breeders' Cup Classic to capture Horse of the Year honors.

He rode many other great horses including Spectacular Bid, Round Table, Ack Ack, and Forego. He's also remembered as being the regular rider of John Henry and guided the gelding to a nose win in the inaugural Arlington Million.

Shoemaker's last victory came at Gulfstream Park, Florida on January 20, 1990 aboard Beau Genius. Two weeks later, on February 3, Shoemaker rode in his very last race as a jockey, at the Santa Anita racetrack at the age of 58. All told, Bill Shoemaker rode in a record 40,350 races.

After his retirement from riding in 1990, he switched to training and quickly scored his first Grade 1 victory in the 1991 Beverly Hills Handicap when his fillies Alcando and Fire The Groom finished 1-2 in the event. Although he was never as successful a trainer as he had been a jockey, he did have 157 winners, including 30 stakes winners and 13 graded stakes winners.

A car accident on April 8, 1991 left him paralyzed from the neck down and wheelchair-bound, but he continued to train racehorses until his retirement in 1997. He then worked with the Paralysis Project, where he served as honorary chairman until his death in 2003.

"Bill Shoemaker, pound for pound, was one of the best athletes of the 20th century, with a rare combination of poise, grace and courage. He was an ambassador for our game, and the entire sport will miss him."

Information provided by Slowracers of Great Plains