Irineo Leguisamo en el Hipódromo Argentino

Irineo Leguisamo ( Arerunguá, Salto,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, 20 October 1903 -

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, 2 December 1985) was a Uruguayan jockey. Also known as ''El Pulpo'' ("the octopus"), ''El Eximio'' ("the illustrious") or ''El Maestro'' ("the master"), he competed for over 57 years at

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

s in

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and was considered the foremost South American rider of the 20th century. As of 2020, Leguisamo holds the record at

Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini The Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini is the most prestigious horse race in Argentina. It is run in December at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, near Buenos Aires. The race was tied for the 93rd highest rated Group/Grade 1 Race for three-y ...

with 10 wins.

In popular culture

* Leguisamo was a close friend of tango singer Carlos Gardel, whose tango song '' Por una cabeza'' is about horse racing. * He is mentioned in '' Se dice de mí'', a milonga by

Francisco Canaro Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader. Canaro was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 y ...

and

Ivo Pelay Ivo Pelay (May 5, 1893 – August 28, 1959) was one of Argentina's most prolific playwrights of the early 20th century. Born Guillermo Juan Robustiano Pichot in Buenos Aires, Pelay wrote over 200 plays in his lifetime, beginning with ''La Mala Vida ...

(1954), sung by

Tita Merello Laura Ana "Tita" Merello (11 October 1904 – 24 December 2002) was an Argentine film actress, tango dancer and singer of the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema (1940–1960). In her 6 decades in Argentine entertainment, at the time of her death, s ...

. * In 1925, Tita Merello premiered the tango "Leguisamo Solo" by

Modesto Papavero Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, which had been written as homage to Leguisamo. * Leguisamo was part of the cast in the film ''Hasta siempre Carlos Gardel''.

References

External links

* * 1903 births 1985 deaths People from Salto Department Uruguayan jockeys Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery 20th-century Uruguayan people {{Uruguay-equestrian-bio-stub