Bill Shoemaker on the scales at Aqueduct
Photography of horse sports
This photograph features jockey William Lee "The Shoe" Shoemaker on the scales after riding his 300th win at Aqueduct in 1959.
Bill Shoemaker rode for 40 years, winning roughly 21.9% of 40,350 races before his retirement in 1990. He was America’s leading jockey ten times in money won and five times in races won.
He won the Kentucky Derby four times, aboard Swaps in 1955, Tomy Lee in 1959, Lucky Debonair in 1965, and Ferdinand in 1986 at the age of 54.
His 11 trips to Triple Crown winner’s circles also include his two Preakness Stakes wins (1963, 1967) and five Belmont Stakes wins (1957, 1959, 1962, 1967, 1975).
Shoemaker was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1958. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1981.
Bernard Stanley Morgan
Morgan B14325
1959-10-10
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black and white photograph
still image
Nashua
Photography of horse sports
Conformation photograph of the American Thoroughbred Nashua taken in December of 1955.
Nashua is typically linked with his rival – the 1955 Kentucky Derby winner, Swaps. Although Nashua claimed both the Belmont and Preakness Stakes in 1955, his possibility for a Triple Crown title was upset by Swaps’ Derby victory. Nashua won the seminal match race against Swaps later that year.
Nashua held the title of U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in 1954 and was named U.S. Horse of the Year in 1955. He was owned by Belair Stud during his racing career, but Nashua was later purchased by a Leslie Combs II-led syndicate as the first Thoroughbred sold for over $1 million.
He retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. He lived until the age of 30.
Joel Clyne Meadors
1955-12-08
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William Lee “Bill" Shoemaker
Horse racing in art
Peb's artwork depicts Bill Shoemaker, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey, atop his four Kentucky Derby winners: Ferdinand, Lucky Debonair, Tomy Lee, and Swaps.
Pierre Bellocq, aka Peb
Peb CJ004
This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the Keeneland Library. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.
Pen and ink with watercolor; 17 x 11.5 in.
still image