Robert Nelson "Bobby" Ussery (born September 3, 1935 in

Vian, Oklahoma Vian () is a town in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States, adjacent to Interstate 40 at the intersection of U.S. Route 64 and Oklahoma State Highway 82. The population was 1,374 at the 2020 census, a 6.3 percent decline from the figure of 1,4 ...

) is a retired American

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 ...

horse racing hall of fame jockey. His first race as a professional jockey came at

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on November 22, 1951, where he rode Reticule to victory in the Thanksgiving Handicap. By the end of the decade, he had won the Travers,

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

and

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

. Riding Windfields Farm's colt New Providence, in 1959 he won Canada's most prestigious race, the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

. The horse went on to win the Canadian Triple Crown, although Avelino Gomez took the mount for the final two legs. Ussery's best finish in the Belmont Stakes was in 1959 aboard the colt Bagdad. In 1960, he won the

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

aboard that year's

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

2-year-old champion,

Hail To Reason Hail to Reason (April 18, 1958 – February 24, 1976) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire. In a racing career cut short by injury, he was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1960 after winning seven stakes ...

. That same year, he rode

Bally Ache Bally Ache (February 3, 1957 – October 28, 1960) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Preakness Stakes in 1960 but died later that year. In her book ''American Classic Pedigrees (1914–2002)'', author Avalyn Hunter wrote that Ba ...

to victory in the

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 Sat ...

and the

Flamingo Stakes The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of a mile and one-eighth. Run as the Florida Derby until 1937, the inaugural event took place at Tampa Downs on February 27, 1926. There was ...

en route to a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and then a win in 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 () o ...

. In 1967, Ussery won the Kentucky Derby on

Proud Clarion Proud Clarion (January 19, 1964 – December 17, 1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1967 Kentucky Derby. Background Owned and bred by John W. Galbreath, Proud Clarion was foaled at his Darby Dan Farm in Le ...

and finished first in 1968 aboard

Dancer's Image Dancer's Image (April 10, 1965 – December 26, 1992) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first winner in the history of the Kentucky Derby to be disqualified. Background Dancer's Image was a gray horse owned and bred by businessm ...

. However,

phenylbutazone Phenylbutazone, often referred to as "bute", is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for the short-term treatment of pain and fever in animals. In the United States and United Kingdom, it is no longer approved for human use (except in th ...

, a substance banned in Kentucky at that time but later sanctioned after it was proven not to affect a horse's performance, was found in Dancer's Image's post-race

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellular ...

test. Dancer's Image was disqualified and listed as having finished last. Ussery was so noted for guiding horses to the outside of the track, near the crown, then diving toward the rail and opening them up on the far turn at Aqueduct Race Track that it was soon dubbed "Ussery's Alley", specifically for riding a horse on the far outside. Ussery retired in 1974 with 3,611 race wins. In 1980, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ussery American jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Sequoyah County, Oklahoma 1935 births Living people