THE CONVERSATION
Recently I was given the opportunity to have a lengthy telephone conversation with former jockey Bobby Ussery. I questioned him about his extraordinary career and some of the many highlights that were a part of it. He was eager to answer every question that I asked. He is thankful and proud of a Hall of Fame career that takes a back seat to no one. This is his story.
THE BEGINNINGS
Bobby Ussery was one of the premier race riders of the era that encompassed the decades of the 1950s and 60s. His peers include thirty jockeys who are enshrined in The Hall of Fame here on Union Avenue. Those who he matched his skills with include the likes of Eddie Arcaro, Willie Shoemaker, Braulio Baeza, Angel Cordero Jr., and so many more.
He was born in Oklahoma at the height of the depression in 1935. It was also the scene of the great drought known as The Dust Bowl that devastated his home state. This was the atmosphere that young Bobby was raised in.
He became familiar with riding horses as a youngster. It was a three-mile walk to school. Bobby decided to ride his family’s horse rather than taking the long hike. With his small frame it became obvious that he was a perfect fit for a race riding career. He learned his trade riding quarter horses at minor league tracks across his home state. These races were contested at the distance of a quarter of a mile. The object was to get a quick jump out of the gate and hold on to the finish line. These instincts would come in handy when Bobby entered the world of Thoroughbred Racing.
In 1951 at age sixteen, he made his debut as an apprentice jockey in New Orleans at the Fairgrounds Racetrack. In his first professional ride he guided a horse named Riticule to win that tracks Thanksgiving Day Handicap.
He was on his way. The following year he headed North to a then thriving New England Circuit. There he went head to head with another teenage dynamo named Anthony DeSpirito. The two thrilled the fans at these racing institutions from the past. Suffolk Downs, Narragansett, and Rockingham Park played host to their blossoming talents. DeSpirito led the nation in wins that year. Bobby proved that he had the skills to ride in the big time.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
The year was 1955. New York was alive with baseball fever. The New York Yankees and The Beloved Bums, The Brooklyn Dodgers were on a collision course that would rock the sporting world. For the first time in six tries against their cross-town rival, the Dodgers finally captured their first World Series. A footnote to the New York sports pages that season mentioned a New England based rider had moved his tack to New York, his name Bobby Ussery.
New York was the capital of American horseracing in that era. As the great Sinatra belted out, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” Bobby was up to the challenge. It didn’t take long for him to shine on his new stage. With his success came recognition, along with a fan base the envy of his competition. Two years later he catapulted onto the list of the top ten money winning jockeys in the country. For the next decade Bobby would own a spot on that list.
CANADA O CANADA
1959 rolled around and with-it Bobby Ussery was about to test his talents north of the border for Canada’s most prestigious horse race, The Queen’s Plate.
The cast of characters in this one is straight out of a Hollywood script. E.P. Taylor, Canada’s most wealthy individual and the Country’s premier horseman owned a three-year-old colt named New Providence. The world-renowned Argentinean horse trainer Horatio Luro relayed an offer from George McCann, conditioner of New Providence for Bobby to ride his colt in the Plate. Without hesitation he accepted. The race was run at Woodbine. This was the home base of Avelino Gomez, a Canadian horse racing legend. He had the mount on the odds on favorite Winning Shot. In attendance was the Royal Party led by Queen Elizabeth and
Prince Phillip.
The bell rang and Bobby positioned his mount off the pace. Down the backstretch he made his move. When they hit the far turn, Bobby had New Providence in the lead. He never looked back. He crossed the finish line a length and a half clear of the field.
The quarter horse rider from Oklahoma was about to get a visit from a Queen. Bobby made his way to the infield. He waited with anticipation as the Royal Party walked towards him. He was met with an extended hand from Her Royal Majesty. Then he was presented with a replica of the Queen’s Plate. He rates that unforgettable day at Woodbine sky high on the list of a spectacular career.
USSERY’S ALLEY
An interesting aspect of Bobby’s career was his unique approach to races run at the distances of seven furlongs and a mile at Aqueduct Racetrack. Bobby was well aware of the surface being crowned on the outer part of the track. This was meant to allow drainage of excess water during and after a rainstorm. This gave the crowned area a hard, faster surface that was advantageous if that route was taken. Bobby would send his mounts that had the ten post or higher to the sweet spot, then hustle his mount to a three or four length lead. He then pointed the horse towards the rail and romped home from there. I asked Bobby why other jockeys didn’t do the same thing; he answered, “They wanted to but didn’t know how.” So, with that “Ussery’s Alley” became a part of racetrack lore.
TRIPLE CROWN SUCCESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT
Bobby got his first taste of Triple Crown success in 1960. He had the mount on Bally Ache, a horse he considers the best he ever rode. He was coming off of a second-place finish in The Kentucky Derby. He headed for Pimlico and a shot at the second jewel of The Triple Crown. It was a stroll in the park for Bally Ache as he cruised home a four-length winner. Bobby had bagged his first Triple Crown Race.
Let’s move forward to 1967. It was the first Saturday in May. To every racing fan in the country that means only one thing. It’s time for America’s greatest horse race, The Kentucky Derby. A colt by the name of Damascus was being advertised as the next winner of the Triple Crown, and why not? He was horse racing royalty. Damascus was owned by the daughter of William Woodward, the late master of famed Belair Stables. His breeding was impeccable. The great Willie Shoemaker was his jockey. Wearing the white with red polka dot silks of Belair, he had the look of a champion and the past performances to back it up.
Bobby on the other hand was onboard a relatively unknown longshot named Proud Clarion. He had never won a single stakes race, yet here he was taking on the great Damascus. Coming down the stretch Ussery and his mount made an explosive move. He blew by a tiring Damascus and charged home an easy winner. Bobby got his first Derby Trophy and he wasn’t quite finished.
1968 brought Bobby back to Churchill Downs for a shot at back to back Derby scores. He had the mount on Peter Fuller’s Dancer’s Image. This time he was riding a quality racehorse. He was sent off as second choice to Calumet Farms Forward Pass. Storied Calumet was seeking its eighth blanket of roses. Bobby got off to a slow start. Then he put Dancer’s Image in high gear and drew clear of the field. Bobby had now won two consecutive Derbys, or had he? The race was made official. Bobby was ecstatic. He was presented with his trophy and celebrated his success. Days later results of a drug test showed traces of an illegal pain killer known as “Bute” still in the Dancer’s system at race time.
The Kentucky Racing Commission stripped Fuller of the purse money and then declared Forward Pass the winner. The decision was fought in the courts for decades. In the end the original ruling would stand, although the controversy over the tainted race has never gone away.
Bobby sees it this way. When I got off the horse the race was called official. That’s it, plain and simple. In a wise decision he took his Derby Trophy with him after the race rather than wait to have it engraved. If he had left it at the track, he is sure that he never would have gotten it back. It’s a prized possession of his, and as far as he is concerned it belongs to him fair and square.
THEY’RE OFF AT SARATOGA
Bobby loved the Saratoga scene. He saw it as the Mecca of the sport. The Whitney’s, Vanderbilt’s, and the Wideners could be seen walking the grounds. To be a part of that atmosphere was thrilling to Bobby.
He excelled at the Spa. In fact, he swept all four of Saratoga’s major races. He took the 1957 Whitney Stakes, a race he places high on his list of victories. 1958 came along and he took both the Alabama and Travers Stakes that August. In 1960 he completed the Saratoga Grand Slam with a Hopeful Stakes score.
THE HALL OF FAME
Bobby retired from his chosen profession in 1974, ending a twenty-three-year career. It didn’t take long for him to receive the necessary votes to claim his spot in The Hall of Fame. In the year of 1980, he walked up the stairs of The National Museum of Racing on historic Union Avenue. There he accepted his plaque as the fifty ninth jockey to attain the immortality that he so richly deserved. Bobby had reached the pinnacle of success. He is a testament to what a young kid with God given talent, and a desire to match his skills with the best in his field can achieve.
Bobby lives in Hollywood, Florida now. He is eighty-three years old. If you are looking for him, you won’t find him at the beach. He spends his time at Gulfstream Park a short eight-minute drive from his home. There he reminisces with pals of his, many of them who never had the privilege of seeing him perform magic on racetrack surfaces across this Hemisphere. He is a throwback to an era when thoroughbred horse racing surely was “The Sport of Kings.”
On a final note: Craig Perret will be honored on August second as the one hundred and seventh member of The Hall of Fame. His and Bobby’s career have much in common. They were both and brought up in the same region of the country. They learned their trade as quarter horse riders at a young age. Both won The Kentucky Derby and Queen’s Plate, a rare feat. Bobby won’t be here for the ceremony. However, he offers his heartfelt congratulations to Craig, “A great rider, and a nice guy.”
