Roscoe Goose
Encyclopedia
Roscoe Tarleton Goose was an American
jockey
in Thoroughbred horse racing
who was one of the inaugural class of inductees in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
Born near Louisville, Kentucky
, Roscoe Goose won a number of races, the most important of which came in 1913 when he captured the Kentucky Derby
with the colt, Donerail
. Sent off at 91:1 odds, Roscoe Goose stunned racing fans with a win that returned backers $184.90 for a $2 wager, a Derby record which still stands. Dubbed The Golden Goose, when his career as a jockey came to an end he remained in the Thoroughbred racing industry as a trainer
and an owner. In 1928, he was the leading trainer at Arlington Park
in Chicago
and in 1931 was training at Ellis Park Racecourse in Henderson, Kentucky
. http://www.betmaker.com/horse-racing/racetracks/ELP.asp. In 1940 he was back at Chicago's
Arlington Park
where he trained the winner of the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes
.
Roscoe Goose also acted as an adviser to buyers of horses and served as president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders Association for three years. Success in racing and wise management of his money made him a very wealthy man. In 1974, author Ruby Earl, with an introduction by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee Eddie Arcaro
, told his life story in a book titled The Golden Goose; story of the jockey who won the most stunning Kentucky Derby and then became a millionaire.
son, the story was part of publisher McGraw-Hill's
press release and has been repeated in numerous publications. The book recounts what happened when Winkfield, an African-American jockey and two-time winner of the Derby who was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 2004, was an invited guest at the National Turfwriters Association banquet held at Louisville's historic Brown Hotel. On his arrival, Winkfield and his daughter Liliane were denied entrance through the front door of the still segregated
hotel. Decades earlier, prejudice had forced Winkfield out of American racing and he had had to seek work and a new life in Europe
. Now, the seventy-nine-year-old Winkfield stood his ground and requested they be allowed in. They were eventually admitted but received the cold shoulder from everyone and were left to sit alone at their table. However, when Roscoe Goose recognized who it was, the white
millionaire came over and spent time at their table. Included in Ed Hotaling's book is one of the last public photos ever taken of Jimmy Winkfield showing him and Roscoe Goose sitting together at the ensuing running of the Kentucky Derby.
In 1963, Roscoe Goose was one of the inaugural class of inductees in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. He is honored with an engraved bronze plaque on display at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center's
Freedom Hall
in Louisville.
Roscoe Goose died in Louisville, Kentucky in 1971 at the age of eighty. He is buried there in the Cave Hill Cemetery. His brother Carl was also a jockey who won the 1913 Kentucky Oaks
but who was killed at age twenty-two in a racing accident on October 15, 1915 at Latonia Race Track
. http://www.brennancallan.com/fam1.html#Roscoe
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
who was one of the inaugural class of inductees in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
Born near Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Roscoe Goose won a number of races, the most important of which came in 1913 when he captured the 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...
with the colt, Donerail
Donerail
Donerail was an American thoroughbred racehorse, who was the upset winner of the 1913 Kentucky Derby. His driving win stands to this day as the biggest long shot in the history of the Derby. Going off at 91-1, Donerail provided a $184.90 payoff for a $2 bet. He was drawing away at the finish...
. Sent off at 91:1 odds, Roscoe Goose stunned racing fans with a win that returned backers $184.90 for a $2 wager, a Derby record which still stands. Dubbed The Golden Goose, when his career as a jockey came to an end he remained in the Thoroughbred racing industry as a 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...
and an owner. In 1928, he was the leading trainer at Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
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...
and in 1931 was training at Ellis Park Racecourse in Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...
. http://www.betmaker.com/horse-racing/racetracks/ELP.asp. In 1940 he was back at Chicago's
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...
Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
where he trained the winner of the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes
Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes
The Arlington-Washington Breeders' Cup Lassie Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid September at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois...
.
Roscoe Goose also acted as an adviser to buyers of horses and served as president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders Association for three years. Success in racing and wise management of his money made him a very wealthy man. In 1974, author Ruby Earl, with an introduction by U.S. Racing 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...
inductee Eddie Arcaro
Eddie Arcaro
George Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple Crown twice...
, told his life story in a book titled The Golden Goose; story of the jockey who won the most stunning Kentucky Derby and then became a millionaire.
Roscoe Goose and Jimmy Winkfield
In his 2004 book Wink: The Incredible Life and Epic Journey of Jimmy Winkfield, author Ed Hotaling wrote of an incident involving Roscoe Goose at one the events leading up to the May 6, 1961 running of the Kentucky Derby. Told to the author by Jimmy Winkfield'sJames Winkfield
James "Jimmy" Winkfield was a Thoroughbred jockey and horse trainer from Kentucky, best remembered as the last African American to ride a winner in the Kentucky Derby....
son, the story was part of publisher McGraw-Hill's
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
press release and has been repeated in numerous publications. The book recounts what happened when Winkfield, an African-American jockey and two-time winner of the Derby who was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 2004, was an invited guest at the National Turfwriters Association banquet held at Louisville's historic Brown Hotel. On his arrival, Winkfield and his daughter Liliane were denied entrance through the front door of the still segregated
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
hotel. Decades earlier, prejudice had forced Winkfield out of American racing and he had had to seek work and a new life in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Now, the seventy-nine-year-old Winkfield stood his ground and requested they be allowed in. They were eventually admitted but received the cold shoulder from everyone and were left to sit alone at their table. However, when Roscoe Goose recognized who it was, the white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
millionaire came over and spent time at their table. Included in Ed Hotaling's book is one of the last public photos ever taken of Jimmy Winkfield showing him and Roscoe Goose sitting together at the ensuing running of the Kentucky Derby.
In 1963, Roscoe Goose was one of the inaugural class of inductees in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. He is honored with an engraved bronze plaque on display at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center's
Kentucky Exposition Center
The Kentucky Exposition Center , formerly Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center , is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States...
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is a multipurpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky...
in Louisville.
Roscoe Goose died in Louisville, Kentucky in 1971 at the age of eighty. He is buried there in the Cave Hill Cemetery. His brother Carl was also a jockey who won the 1913 Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
but who was killed at age twenty-two in a racing accident on October 15, 1915 at Latonia Race Track
Latonia Race Track
Latonia Race Track on Winston Avenue in Latonia Kentucky, six miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1883. The track hosted a spring-summer racing series and a second in late fall. It was once regarded as among the United States' top sites for racing,...
. http://www.brennancallan.com/fam1.html#Roscoe