Weighing under 100 pounds and standing less than five feet tall, Shoemaker was an unlikely star athlete. His right hand was powerful all right. Six times, he had six winners in a day. "A few times I didn't think I was going to make it. Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 509-511. "It's a puzzlement to me how the guy got runs out of horse after horse after horse after horse," jockey Chris McCarron said. Or the pool player who could deliver the finesse shot after an explosive break. In the years since, Shoemaker has filed lawsuits against the State of California -- claiming the highway was unsafe -- and the doctors who treated him -- alleging he was not treated immediately or properly for his neck injuries. They put lines on the fence to show the finish.". Two especially noteworthy ones came in the 1980s. I think I got about $10.". Only months after going to work as an exercise boy in Northern California, the 4-foot-11, 96-pound "Willie" Shoemaker had his first professional ride, on March 19, 1949. "They weren't going to give it to me," Shoemaker said. |  He was placed in a shoebox and the shoebox was placed in the oven when he was a baby to keep him alive. Winning his first race in 1949 at age 18, by the time of his retirement in 1990 he had racked up 8,833 victories - among them four Kentucky Derbies, five Belmont Stakes and three Preakness Stakes, with his winnings totaling well over $123 million. Weighing only 1 pound 13 ounces (0.8 kg) at birth, Shoemaker grew to an adult weight of 98 pounds (44.5 kg) and a height of 4 feet 11.5 inches (1.51 metres). "Shoe" rode 218 more winners before the year was out. navgalleryover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_gallery_over.gif"; navgallerycold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_gallery_cold.gif"; Two years later, he should have won his second Derby. "I was half in shock.". He won four Belmont Stakes in an 11-year period aboard Gallant Man (1957), Sword Dancer (1959), Jaipur (1962) and Damascus and tacked on a fifth in 1975 with Avatar. Just about the only goal he didn't accomplish was to sweep racing's Triple Crown - the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont stakes - as did his friend and rival, jockey Eddie Arcaro.Shoemaker's life and career wasn't all roses, however. "It's staggering the career he had. That's where he and Ferdinand stayed, winning by 2 1/2 lengths. document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + 'over.src'); Although he remained small throughout his life—topping out at 4'11" and wearing a size 2 1/2 shoe—he was strong, and became a member of his high school boxing and wrestling teams, never losing a match. But I never quit.". var navcontributecold = new Image(); After the race they did what they should have done 50 years before. Texas-born Willie Shoemaker is recognized as the most successful jockey in racing history. - IMDb Mini Biography By: ". "Being able to win that many races, year after year, that consistently for that long a time," McCarron said. The first jockey to win over $100 million. He reportedly made $1 million in appearance fees -- more than he did with any one season's worth of purses. In 1953, Shoemaker set the record for most winners (485) in a year -- a mark that held up for 20 years. navclassiccold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_classic_cold.gif"; // -->. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Sort of horse racing's answer to the rifle-armed quarterback who could throw the touch pass. His most famous mishap occurred during the 1957 Kentucky Derby, when as he raced to what seemed to be certain victory, he mistook the 16th pole for the finish line and stood up in the stirrups, resulting in his mount slowing down and a horse named Iron Liege charging ahead to win the race by a nose. Height: 4' 11" (1.5 m) Mini Bio (1) Texas-born Willie Shoemaker is recognized as the most successful jockey in racing history. if (document.images) Shoemaker worked 18-1 shot Ferdinand through the pack deliberately. var navclassiccold = new Image(); frankfob2@yahoo.com, Other Works Late that year, he announced he would retire. In 42 years, Shoemaker won 11 Triple Crown races, 1,009 stakes races and 10 national money titles. He rode Candy Spots (1963) and Damascus (1967) to victory in the Preakness. Official Sites. navathletesover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_over.gif"; Unable to race, he spent the next several years as a trainer, finally retiring from the sport altogether in 1997. Only months after going to work as an exercise boy in Northern California, the 4-foot-11, 96-pound "Willie" Shoemaker had his first professional ride, on March 19, 1949. Billie Lee Shoemaker was born Aug. 19, 1931, in the west Texas town of Fabens. |  He weighed between 29-40 ounces and was 10 1/2 inches long.

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