Theodore Francis “Ted" Atkinson

Title

Theodore Francis “Ted" Atkinson

Subject

Horse racing in art

Description

Peb's artwork depicts Ted Atkinson, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey.

Ted Atkinson (1916-2005) began riding professionally at the age of 21. In his first decade of riding he rose to America’s leading jockey by wins and money earned in 1944 and 1946.

Atkinson rode War Relic in an upset victory over the 1941 Triple Crown Winner Whirlaway in the Narrangansett Special. That ride gained him the national recognition that continued throughout his 21-year career.

Atkinson won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes riding Greentree’s Capot in 1949 and the New York Handicap Triple riding Tom Fool in 1953. Of his 23,661 career mounts, he considered Tom Fool the best and brightest horse he ever rode, writing in his diary that “Tom Fool had muscles in his eyebrows.” Atkinson rode the colt to win all of his ten races in 1953 — the same year in which Tom Fool won the American Horse of the Year honors.

Atkinson received the George Woolf Memorial Award and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 1957.

Creator

Pierre Bellocq, aka Peb

Rights

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.

Format

Pen and ink with watercolor; 12 x 8.5 in

Type

still image

Original Format

Pen and ink with watercolor

Physical Dimensions

12 x 8.5 in

Files

CJ003.jpg

Collection

Citation

Pierre Bellocq, aka Peb, “Theodore Francis “Ted" Atkinson,” The Keeneland Library, accessed March 29, 2024, https://keenelandlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/2.

Output Formats