Willie shoemaker jockey biography

Horse racing's most famous jockey, Willie Shoemaker (born 1931) was a tiny, gentle rider who set a world record with 8,833 winning races, including 11 victories in Triple Crown races. He raced for more than 40 years and was the oldest rider (at age 54) and one of the youngest (at age 23) to win the Kentucky Derby.

Weighing under 100 pounds and standing less than five feet tall, Shoemaker was an unlikely star athlete. Yet he seemed always to coax the best performances out of his horses. For decades, he rode in dozens of races nearly every week of the year. After his retirement, he was critically injured in a car accident and became a spokesman for the rights of disabled persons.

From Small Beginnings

Born at his family's rural Texas home in 1931, Billy Lee Shoemaker weighed only one pound, 13 ounces. The doctor attending the birth told his mother the baby wouldn't live. Shoemaker's grandmother put him in a shoebox, turned on the oven, and put the box on the

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Shoemaker made racing history
By Ron Flatter
Special to ESPN.com

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Without getting on a horse, probably the best way to understand the work of a jockey is to shake his hand. At 100 pounds, he doesn't look like he could carry a load of groceries, let alone control a beast 15 times his weight. But all jockeys seem to have powerful handshakes.

	Bill Shoemaker's victory in the 1986 Kentucky Derby aboard Ferdinand was one of the more memorable in a distinguished career.

Then there's Bill Shoemaker.

His right hand was powerful all right. But there was also something rather gentle about that grip. Sort of horse racing's answer to the rifle-armed quarterback who could throw the touch pass. Or the pool player who could deliver the finesse shot after an explosive break.

Racing people frequently refer to Shoemaker's "soft hands," hands that took the reins of a horse and made "Shoe" the boss.

Those hands guided 8,833 winners, a world record that would stand unt

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Bill Shoemaker

American mästare jockey (1931–2003)

Bill Shoemaker
Shoemaker in 1965
Occupation	Jockey
Born	(1931-08-19)August 19, 1931 Fabens, Texas, U.S.
Died	October 12, 2003(2003-10-12) (aged 72) San Marino, California, U.S.
Career wins	8,833
American Classics / Breeders' Cup wins:

William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories.

Early life

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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 on 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 storlek proved an asset in thoroughbred hors