George M. Odom
Encyclopedia
George Martin Odom was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
jockey
and trainer
in Thoroughbred
horse racing
. He is only one of two people to ever have won the Belmont Stakes
as both a jockey and a trainer.
A native of Columbus, Georgia
, at age fourteen George Odom galloped horses for future Hall of Fame trainer, William P. Burch
. He began riding professionally at age fifteen and in 1899 at age sixteen, won his first race. He quickly made such an impression that an April 10, 1899 article in the Chicago Daily Tribune
referred to him as another Tod Sloan
. In June 1899, the eighty-seven-pound Odom, who was an early advocate of the short-stirrup
riding manner used today, signed a contract to ride for W. C. Whitney for a salary of $10,000 a year with additional compensation on a sliding scale for winning and finishing in the money.
He rode at tracks in New York
, New Orleans and the Benning Race Track in Washington, D.C.
. Among his major wins as a jockey, Odom rode Banastar to victory in the 1901 Metropolitan Handicap
and won the Woodlawn Vase
trophy on three occasions. The best known of his mounts was future Hall of Fame inductee, Broomstick
.
After just eight years as a jockey, George Odom retired from riding in 1905 with a 17.2 winning percentage. Widely respected, he had earned a reputation as an honest jockey in an era when race fixing was not uncommon. Odom then made his home in Atlanta, Georgia
and immediately turned to training horses. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/559344432.html?dids=559344432:559344432&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Jul+23%2C+1905&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution&desc=ODOM%2C+%22HONEST+JOCKEY%2C%22+RETIRES+FROM+THE+TRACK&pqatl=google
in Brooklyn
, New York
. He owned and trained a colt name Oraculum, who won the 1906 Hempstead Stakes for two-year-olds at Jamaica Racetrack
. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E1DA173EE733A25755C2A9669D946797D6CF In 1907, Odom led all trainers in wins at Washington Park Race Track
in Chicago
.
During his career, George Odom operated a public stable whose clients over the years included Robert L. Gerry, Sr.
, Marshall Field III
, and Hollywood film mogul Louis B. Mayer
who owned Odom's most famous runner, Busher
, a future Hall of Fame filly who was voted 1945 American Horse of the Year honors. Odom also trained good runners such as Nimba and Tippity Witchet
, and in 1938 won the Belmont Stakes
with Pasteurized
, joining James G. Rowe, Sr. as the only ones to ever win that American Classic both as a jockey and as a trainer.
Following the formation of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
, George Odom was part of the 1955 inaugural class of inductees.
Married to Julie Murtha in 1902, in later years the Odoms made their home in Jamaica, New York
. A few weeks after his eighty-second birthday, George Odom died on July 29, 1964 at Roosevelt Hospital
in Manhattan
, New York
. Their son, George P. "Maje" Odom, was also a trainer.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
and trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
in Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. He is only one of two people to ever have won the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
as both a jockey and a trainer.
A native of Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, at age fourteen George Odom galloped horses for future Hall of Fame trainer, William P. Burch
William P. Burch
William Preston Burch was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer. A native of South Carolina, William Burch served as a courier in the Confederate States Army under Lieut. Gen. Wade Hampton III during the American Civil War...
. He began riding professionally at age fifteen and in 1899 at age sixteen, won his first race. He quickly made such an impression that an April 10, 1899 article in the Chicago Daily Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
referred to him as another Tod Sloan
Tod Sloan (jockey)
James Forman "Tod" Sloan was an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955.-Early life and U.S. racing career:...
. In June 1899, the eighty-seven-pound Odom, who was an early advocate of the short-stirrup
Stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a stirrup leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal...
riding manner used today, signed a contract to ride for W. C. Whitney for a salary of $10,000 a year with additional compensation on a sliding scale for winning and finishing in the money.
He rode at tracks in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Orleans and the Benning Race Track in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Among his major wins as a jockey, Odom rode Banastar to victory in the 1901 Metropolitan Handicap
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile," is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile .The Met Mile was first...
and won the Woodlawn Vase
Woodlawn Vase
The Woodlawn Vase is an American trophy given annually to the winning owner of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.- Overview of the trophy :...
trophy on three occasions. The best known of his mounts was future Hall of Fame inductee, Broomstick
Broomstick (horse)
Broomstick was a Thoroughbred race horse born and bred at the famous McGrathiana Stud in Kentucky, but more importantly, he was one of the great sires of American racing. Out of another great sire, the Hall of Famer Ben Brush, Broomstick went on after his racing career to produce champion after...
.
After just eight years as a jockey, George Odom retired from riding in 1905 with a 17.2 winning percentage. Widely respected, he had earned a reputation as an honest jockey in an era when race fixing was not uncommon. Odom then made his home in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and immediately turned to training horses. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/559344432.html?dids=559344432:559344432&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Jul+23%2C+1905&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution&desc=ODOM%2C+%22HONEST+JOCKEY%2C%22+RETIRES+FROM+THE+TRACK&pqatl=google
As a trainer
George Odom made his debut as a trainer on August 30, 1906 at Sheepshead Bay Race TrackSheepshead Bay Race Track
Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He owned and trained a colt name Oraculum, who won the 1906 Hempstead Stakes for two-year-olds at Jamaica Racetrack
Jamaica Racetrack
Jamaica Race Course was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, New York. The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featured the inaugural running of the Excelsior Handicap. Eugene D. Wood, one of the founders and largest...
. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E1DA173EE733A25755C2A9669D946797D6CF In 1907, Odom led all trainers in wins at Washington Park Race Track
Washington Park Race Track
Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated in what is the current location of the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodlawn community area of Chicago in Cook...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
During his career, George Odom operated a public stable whose clients over the years included Robert L. Gerry, Sr.
Robert L. Gerry, Sr.
Robert Livingston Gerry, Sr. was an American businessman and owner of thoroughbred racehorses.-Biography:Owner of the Aknusti Estate in the Catskill Mountains of New York, adjoining his family's estate at Lake Delaware, New York...
, Marshall Field III
Marshall Field III
Marshall Field III was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune and a leading financial supporter and founding board member of Saul Alinsky's community organizing network Industrial Areas Foundation.Born...
, and Hollywood film mogul Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
who owned Odom's most famous runner, Busher
Busher (horse)
Busher was a thoroughbred racing filly. She was sired by War Admiral, the winner of the Triple Crown in 1937, and the great son of a great legend, Man o' War. She was out of Baby League by Bubbling Over, the colt who won the 1926 Kentucky Derby...
, a future Hall of Fame filly who was voted 1945 American Horse of the Year honors. Odom also trained good runners such as Nimba and Tippity Witchet
Tippity Witchet
Tippity Witchet was a son of the great sire Broomstick who was the son of the legendary Ben Brush. His dam was a daughter of St. Simon, one of Great Britain's greatest stallions...
, and in 1938 won the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
with Pasteurized
Pasteurized (horse)
Pasteurized was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1938 Belmont Stakes. He was bred and raced by Carol Averell Harriman Smith Plunkett, daughter of E. H. Harriman, a prominent New York railroad executive....
, joining James G. Rowe, Sr. as the only ones to ever win that American Classic both as a jockey and as a trainer.
Following the formation of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
, George Odom was part of the 1955 inaugural class of inductees.
Married to Julie Murtha in 1902, in later years the Odoms made their home in Jamaica, New York
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
. A few weeks after his eighty-second birthday, George Odom died on July 29, 1964 at Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Their son, George P. "Maje" Odom, was also a trainer.