Shoemaker, William Lee

▪ 2004

“Willie”; “Bill”; “the Shoe” 

      American jockey (b. Aug. 19, 1931, Fabens, Texas—d. Oct. 12, 2003, San Marino, Calif.), was one of the most successful jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred horse racing. In a career that spanned 41 years, he won a record 8,833 races, including 11 Triple Crown events. Born prematurely, Shoemaker weighed less than 0.9 kg (2 lb) at birth; he eventually grew to about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall and weighed less than 45 kg (100 lb). At age 10 he moved with his father to California, which became his racing base. Noted for his self-confidence and rapport with horses, Shoemaker began racing professionally in 1949 and quickly emerged as one of the sport's leading jockeys. His notable wins included the Kentucky Derby (1955, 1959, 1965, and 1986) and the Belmont (1957, 1959, 1962, 1967, and 1975) and Preakness (1963 and 1967) stakes; with his victory at the 1986 Kentucky Derby, he became, at age 54, the oldest jockey to win that event. At the time of his retirement in 1990, he had ridden in 40,350 races and won more than $123 million. Among the horses he jockeyed were Swaps, Spectacular Bid, John Henry, and Ferdinand. In 1991 he was left a quadriplegic following an automobile accident, but he continued to train horses until 1997. Shoemaker wrote a series of mystery novels featuring a jockey-turned-sleuth protagonist, and his autobiography, Shoemaker (co-written with Barney Nagler), was published in 1988. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 1958.

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