Fred A. Smith (c. 1913 – June 28, 1951) was a
Cuban American 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 ...
in
Thoroughbred horse racing best remembered for narrowly missing victory in the 1940
U.S. Triple Crown.
Born in
Camagüey
Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.
It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by S ...
,
Cuba, Freddy Smith rode and won at racetracks across the United States. He had his best years in 1939 and 1940. Although he won the 1939
Metropolitan Handicap aboard
Joseph Widener's colt, Knickerbocker, he had the greatest success of his career that same year riding
Col. Edward Bradley's future
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 ...
colt,
Bimelech. Smith was the leading jockey at
Chicago's Arlington Park in 1940, and in 1942 won the
Arlington Handicap aboard Rounders, defeating 1941 Triple Crown winner,
Whirlaway.
1940 Triple Crown
Freddy Smith rode Bimelech to
American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1939, winning the
Saratoga Special Stakes, 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 ...
and both the
Belmont
Belmont may refer to:
People
* Belmont (surname)
Places
* Belmont Abbey (disambiguation)
* Belmont Historic District (disambiguation)
* Belmont Hotel (disambiguation)
* Belmont Park (disambiguation)
* Belmont Plantation (disambiguation)
* Belmon ...
and
Pimlico Futurity
The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the r ...
s. In Bimelech's three-year-old season, Smith guided the colt to victory in the 1940
Blue Grass Stakes and
Derby Trial Stakes but after bettors made them the overwhelming favorite, they finished second in the
1940 Kentucky Derby
The 1940 Kentucky Derby was the 66th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 4, 1940.
Full results
* Winning breeder: Robert A. Fairbairn ( KY)
References
{{Kentucky Derby
1940
Kentucky Derby
Derby
Derby ( ) is a ...
. Smith was criticized for his riding and admitted he had made a tactical mistake that may have caused the loss. Smith and Bimelech went on to easily win the
Preakness and
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 ...
and the colt was voted 1940's
American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse.
During the 1940s, Freddy Smith won other important races but on June 28, 1951, the thirty-eight-year-old jockey died after he was thrown from his horse in the eighth race at
Hollywood Park Racetrack in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...
.
References
August 2, 1942 ''New York Times'' article on Rounders' defeat of Whirlaway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Fred A.
1910s births
Year of birth uncertain
1951 deaths
American jockeys
Jockeys who died while racing
Cuban emigrants to the United States
Sportspeople from Camagüey