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The Great Black Jockeys
Forgotten Heroes of Horse Racing
tonyprice@blackathlete.com •
View all articles by Tony Price, BASN Staff Reporter
POSTED: Feb 8, 2010
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That record has not been approached by any other jockey since. He was the first jockey to be inducted into the Jockey Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing. Sadly, his career was cut short at the age of 34 when he died of pneumonia.
He always had trouble staying at the light weight demanded of a jockey and was known to binge and purge. It has been speculated that it was vomit backing up in his lungs that caused the pneumonia which led to his death.
He is buried next to Man O’ War in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
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During his career he rode for the most prominent owners of the era, including Mike and Phil Dwyer, Richard Croker, Pierre Lorillard, August Belmont, and James R. Keene.Simms won back-to-back Belmont Stakes in 1893-94 aboard Commanche and Henry of Navarre.
He also was a two-time
winner of the Kentucky Derby aboard
Ben Brush and
Plaudit and was the only African-American jockey to win the Preakness,
aboard Sly Fox in 1898.
One of Simms’ most dramatic races was a match
between Dobbin and
Domino in 1893. Simms and Dobbin
finished in a dead heat with the previously unbeaten
Domino.
Simms
found great success riding the New York circuit in the 1890’s. He also
briefly rode in England in 1895. Many sources credit Simms with
introducing the British to the short stirrup style of riding later
popularized by
Tod Sloan.
Willie Simms was the nation’s
leading jockey in 1894. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1977.
Tony Price is the author of "An Unsung Coach: Lessons on Coaching and Life". A Boston-based sports reporter, a collegiate athletics administrator, and a head basketball coach, Price also blogs and covers various sports for "The Darker Shade Of Sports"( www.darkershadeofsports.com).
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