John Linus McAtee was an American 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...

 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:...

 in Thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

. He went by his middle name, Linus, but was nicknamed "Pony" by friends and would be called that by some in the press. While still an apprentice, he rode for Commander J. K. L. Ross

J. K. L. Ross

John Kenneth Leveson Ross CBE was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered for winning the first United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1919 with his Hall of Fame colt, Sir Barton.- Early life :J.K.L...

 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 then was aboard his colt Damrosch

Damrosch (horse)

Damrosch was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1916 Preakness Stakes. Bred by August Belmont, Jr. at his Nursery Stud near Lexington, Kentucky, he was sired by the 1903 English Triple Crown winner, Rock Sand. Damrosch was out of the mare Dissembler, a daughter of the...

 for the win in the 1916 Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

.

Called one of the best riders of his era by 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...

, McAtee developed into a superior tactician who won two Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

s and who was the United States Champion Jockey

United States Champion Jockey by earnings

There is recognition for the United States Champion Jockey by earnings but no formal award is given to the jockey whose mounts earned the most purse money in American Thoroughbred racing. The American Racing Manual shows that since 1910 the following jockeys headed the annual earnings list the most...

in money earned for 1928. After retiring from racing in 1932, a comeback attempt three years later ended after he suffered a serious foot injury. In 1956, he was inducted in the United States' Racing Hall of Fame.