Description
This photograph features jockey Eddie Arcaro with trainer James Edward "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons seated on a bench at Saratoga in August of 1958.
Arcaro, known as “The Master” of U.S. Thoroughbred racing, ascended to the country’s premier jockey status for much of the mid-20th century. He claimed a record 17 wins in Triple Crown races during his 30-year career, boasting two Triple Crown wins aboard Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948). He led the country in earnings in 1940, 1942, 1948, 1950, 1952, and 1955. Upon his retirement in 1961, Arcaro had run in 24,092 races, with 4,779 wins and earnings that exceeded $30 million. He remains the only jockey to have ever claimed more than one Triple Crown win.
Fitzsimmons won 13 Triple Crown races and trained 2 Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935).He was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1958.