William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007), born in Colver, Pennsylvania, was a

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

. Colver is in the northwestern part of Cambria Township, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ebensburg, the county seat.

Early life and career

Referred to by the media as both "Bill" and "Willie" (Hartack detested being called "Willie") during his racing career, Hartack grew up on a farm in the Blacklick Township area of

Cambria County, Pennsylvania Cambria County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,472. Its county seat is Ebensburg. The county was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset Countie ...

. His mother died from injuries in an automobile accident in 1940, when Hartack was 8. Small in stature, at age 17 he stood 5 ft. 4 in. (1.63 m) and weighed 111 lb (50 kg), a size that enabled him to pursue a career as a jockey in

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. By his third season of racing, Hartack was the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' leading jockey in both wins and money earned. He would go on to win a National Champion title six times. He and

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997), 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. Tripl ...

are the only two jockeys to ever win the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

five times. As well, Hartack won the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also 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 ...

three times and the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

once. He rode

Tim Tam Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate. Hi ...

to victory in the 1958

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

but a week before the Kentucky Derby, Hartack broke a leg and had to give up his ride on Tim Tam to replacement jockey Ismael Valenzuela, who won the Derby. During his riding career between 1953 and 1974 in the United States, Hartack rode 4,272 winners in 21,535 mounts. From 1974 to 1980 he raced in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, then retired in 1981. Hartack led the nation in races won four times, and was the first rider to have purse earnings of $3 million in a season. After he retired as a jockey, Hartack worked as a steward as well as other racing officials for the rest of his life. Hartack made the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' magazine in 1956 and again in 1964, plus the cover of the 10 February 1958 issue of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', which he always refused to sign as it showed his first name as "Willie," which he detested. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1959 at the early age of 26. In 1967, Hartack authored (with Whitney Tower) a three-part series in ''Sports Illustrated'' titled "A Hard Ride All The Way." Published in the March 27, April 3 & April 10 issues, the series chronicled Hartack's life and included his frequent run-ins and disputes with owners, trainers, racing officials and members of the press. Winners ridden in

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

Classic races : * Kentucky Derby: :1957 :

Iron Liege Iron Liege (March 11, 1954 – December 14, 1972) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby. Background Iron Liege was a bay horse bred and owned by Calumet Farm. He was sired by Calumet's leading ...

:1960 : Venetian Way :1962 :

Decidedly Decidedly (March 3, 1959 – November 12, 1984) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known for winning the 1962 Kentucky Derby. Background Decidedly was a gray horse bred in California by George Pope. His sire Determine from who ...

:1964 :

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

:1969 :

Majestic Prince Majestic Prince (March 19, 1966 – April 22, 1981) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the leading North American horses of his generation, he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1969. Background In September 1967, Majestic Prince ...

* Preakness Stakes: :1956 :

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...

:1964 : Northern Dancer :1969 : Majestic Prince * Belmont Stakes: :1960 : Celtic Ash

Death

On November 26, 2007, Hartack was found dead from an apparent heart attack in a cabin at a camp near the town of

Freer, Texas Freer is a city in Duval County, Texas, Duval County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,818 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 3,241 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Like Sweetwater, Texas, Sweetwa ...

Legacy

The Bill Hartack Charitable Foundation was established to honor a racing legend and icon and to continue in his name contributions to the industry he dearly loved - Thoroughbred racing. More information can be found a
billhartackfoundation.com

References

Notes

William J. Hartack at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

External links