Steve Brooks (jockey)
Encyclopedia
Steve Brooks was an American Hall of Fame
jockey
. The son of a horse dealer, he was born in rural Nebraska near the village of Culbertson
. He began riding horses as a boy of ten and at age sixteen in 1938 won his first race at an accredited race track
.
Steve Brooks skills led him to move to Chicago
, Illinois
to race at one of the United States' major venues, Arlington Park
. There, in 1941 he won the Arlington Matron Stakes and in 1942 rode the Hal Price Headley-owned Lotopoise to victory in the first running of the Modesty Stakes
. Brooks later rode the prestigious Calumet Farm
horses when they raced at Arlington Park and for three straight years from 1947 through 1949 won Arlington's riding title.
In 1948 Steve Brooks won six races in a single day at Churchill Downs
then at the same track the following year won the Kentucky Derby's
Diamond Jubilee
aboard Calumet Farm's colt, Ponder
. Sent off by bettors
at 16:1 odds, Brooks brought the colt from last in the field of fourteen horses to win going away over the Greentree Stable
colt, Capot
. Brooks went on to become the 1949 Champion Jockey by total earnings
and runnerup in total wins.
Steve Brooks set a world record for the mile aboard the U.S. Triple Crown Champion Citation
in winning the 1950 Golden Gate Mile at Golden Gate Fields
. He also rode Citation to victory in the 1951 Hollywood Gold Cup
, a win that made Citation the first horse in history to earn more than $1 million. In the 1959 Citation Handicap, an exhibition race at Washington Park Racetrack to honor the great horse, Brooks rode Round Table
to victory. http://thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/rtble.htm http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/roundtable.html In 1952, he rode Charles T. Fisher's
Sub Fleet to a second place finish in the Kentucky Derby and to fifth in the Preakness Stakes
.
At age forty in 1961, Steve Brooks was the leading jockey at Monmouth Park and on April 8, 1963 became only the fifth jockey in American Thoroughbred racing history to win 4,000 races. He retired in 1970, but continued working with racehorses. He made a comeback in 1975 but rode for only a short time. In 1979, while exercising a horse, Brooks was thrown to the ground and died as a result of his injuries.
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:...
. The son of a horse dealer, he was born in rural Nebraska near the village of Culbertson
Culbertson, Nebraska
Culbertson is a village in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 594 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Culbertson is located at ....
. He began riding horses as a boy of ten and at age sixteen in 1938 won his first race at an accredited race track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
.
Steve Brooks skills led him to move to 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...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to race at one of the United States' major venues, 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...
. There, in 1941 he won the Arlington Matron Stakes and in 1942 rode the Hal Price Headley-owned Lotopoise to victory in the first running of the Modesty Stakes
Modesty Handicap
The Modesty Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois near Chicago....
. Brooks later rode the prestigious Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
horses when they raced at Arlington Park and for three straight years from 1947 through 1949 won Arlington's riding title.
In 1948 Steve Brooks won six races in a single day at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
then at the same track the following year won the Kentucky Derby's
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...
Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
aboard Calumet Farm's colt, Ponder
Ponder (horse)
Ponder , an American Thoroughbred racehorse, was the son of the 1944 Kentucky Derby winner, Pensive and sire of the winner of the 1956 Kentucky Derby, Needles. Ponder, himself, won the Derby in 1949...
. Sent off by bettors
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
at 16:1 odds, Brooks brought the colt from last in the field of fourteen horses to win going away over the Greentree Stable
Greentree Stable
Greentree Stable, in Red Bank, New Jersey, was a major American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm established in 1914 by Payne Whitney of the Whitney family of New York City. Payne Whitney operated a horse farm and stable at Saratoga Springs, New York with his brother Harry Payne...
colt, Capot
Capot
Capot was an American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Menow out of the mare Piquet. Owned and bred by Greentree Stable, Capot was trained by John M...
. Brooks went on to become the 1949 Champion Jockey by total earnings
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...
and runnerup in total wins.
Steve Brooks set a world record for the mile aboard the U.S. Triple Crown Champion Citation
Citation (horse)
Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
in winning the 1950 Golden Gate Mile at Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
. He also rode Citation to victory in the 1951 Hollywood Gold Cup
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
, a win that made Citation the first horse in history to earn more than $1 million. In the 1959 Citation Handicap, an exhibition race at Washington Park Racetrack to honor the great horse, Brooks rode Round Table
Round Table (horse)
Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history. He was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, on the night of April 6, 1954...
to victory. http://thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/rtble.htm http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/roundtable.html In 1952, he rode Charles T. Fisher's
Charles T. Fisher
Charles Thomas Fisher was a Catholic American businessman and an automotive pioneer.Born in Norwalk, Ohio, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys and four girls...
Sub Fleet to a second place finish in the Kentucky Derby and to fifth in the 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...
.
At age forty in 1961, Steve Brooks was the leading jockey at Monmouth Park and on April 8, 1963 became only the fifth jockey in American Thoroughbred racing history to win 4,000 races. He retired in 1970, but continued working with racehorses. He made a comeback in 1975 but rode for only a short time. In 1979, while exercising a horse, Brooks was thrown to the ground and died as a result of his injuries.
Note
- Some sources list his birth year as 1921 but the United States' Social Security Death Index says 1922.