Monday, Oct. 13, 2003 | 10:56 a.m.
Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.
The world of horse racing lost a legend and icon on Sunday. The world lost another great human being as well.
Bill Shoemaker passed away in his sleep at his home in San Marino, Calif. According to longtime friend and trainer Paddy Gallagher, doctors said Shoemaker died of natural causes. He was 72.
Possibly the most famous jockey of all time, Shoemaker's death becomes the second such loss to racing this year. John Longden, who's all-time winnings record of 6,032 victories Shoemaker broke in 1970, died in February at 96.
I had the pleasure of knowing both gentlemen riders during my early days in racing.
While there will be many words written and days in memorial to follow, it will be the mountain of memories by the fans and players of the sport that will recall what Shoemaker meant to those who mean the most to racing.
Shoemaker was born prematurely Aug. 19, 1931, in Fabens, Texas, on a small cotton farm. Doctors sadly predicted the small baby would not live through the night. But, his grandmother put baby Shoemaker in a small shoe box and place it in the kitchen stove devising a homemade incubator to keep him alive.
After beating the odds of survival, Shoemaker went on to be an international ambassador of racing.
Fellow Hall of Famer Chris McCarron, who retired from the saddle and is now Santa Anita's general manager, said of Shoemaker, "He was one of the greatest human beings I have ever had the pleasure of knowing in my life.
"Forget about his ability to communicate with horses, his compassion for people was second to none."
Shoemaker rode his first race March 19, 1949, and just a month later, on April 20, he rode his first winner aboard Shafter V at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. Although "The Shoe," as he was universally known, finished fourth on Patchy Groundfog in his final career ride at Santa Anita on Feb. 3, 1990, his 8,833 lifetime victories ranks only second to world record-holder Laffit Pincay Jr., at 9,530.
He rode 40,350 horses with a 22 percent win mark while finishing second 6,136 times and third 4,987 times, finishing in-the-money with almost half of his entire career rides.
He won more than 1,000 stakes races and held 42 riding titles at Southern California tracks. Shoemaker accepted 24 Kentucky Derby mounts to win four run for the roses. His first Derby victory came in 1955 aboard Swaps, then with Tomy Lee in 1959 and Lucky Debonair in 1965.
His fourth and final was what many believe could have been his greatest moment.
In a ride for all times, Shoemaker weaved his way through the long Churchill Downs homestretch and won the 1986 Derby aboard Ferdinand to become the oldest jockey to win the race at age 54.
His most famous Derby ride came in 1957, when he misjudged the 16th pole for the finish line while riding Gallant Man. They lost that Derby by a nose to Iron Liege.
Through his 41 years in the saddle, Shoemaker racked up 10 national money-won titles and five races-won championships.
He won 11 Triple Crown races and taken the hardware of two Eclipse Awards (1976 & 1981), the 1951 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award and the 1990 Mike Venezia Award.
Besides Swaps, Gallant Man and Ferdinand, he has ridden champions Spectacular Bid, John Henry, Damascus, Forego, Ack Ack, Round Table, Prove It, Olden Times and Sword Dancer.
But, it was the magnificent way "The Shoe" went about his profession and the gifted talent that he possessed that made him one of a kind.
Meshach Tenny, who trained the great Swaps, was asked once what he liked about Shoemaker as a rider. His reply: "The way he meets me in the winners circle."
Although Shoemaker sustained disabling injuries just twice through forty-plus years in a dangerous field of endeavor, it was a one-car accident that left the legendary jockey a quadriplegic in 1991.
As we approach another of racing's biggest days, we reflect on one of racing's biggest losses. "The Shoe" has fallen. In the same demeanor in which he lived his life -- quietly with dignity.
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