John H. Adams (September 1, 1914 – August 19, 1995) was an American National Champion Thoroughbred racing

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 ...

who was inducted into the

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. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 1965.

Early life

Born in

Carlisle, Arkansas Carlisle is a city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States. It is the easternmost municipality within the Little Rock–North Little Rock– Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area. Carlisle was incorporated in 1878. As of the 2010 census i ...

, John Adams was nicknamed the "Iola Mite" for his boyhood home in

Iola, Kansas Iola () is the county seat of Allen County, Kansas, United States. The city is situated along the Neosho River in southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,396. It is named in honor of Iola Colborn. History ...

. He got his first ride at a county fair where his father was delivering feed for the horses and other livestock. His parents didn't want him to become a jockey and refused to sign the necessary papers for an apprenticeship, so Adams misrepresented his age and became a journeyman immediately.

Jockey

John Adams began his professional riding career at Riverside Park Racetrack in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. He went on to become a leading jockey beginning in the mid-1930s, with 43 percent of his mounts finishing in the top three over a 24-year period ending in 1958, when he retired due to a back injury. During his career, he rode a number of winners for prominent owners such as

Maine Chance Farm Maine Chance Farm was an American Thoroughbred horse racing stable in Lexington, Kentucky owned by cosmetics tycoon Elizabeth Arden. Elizabeth Arden raced under the '' nom de course'' "Mr. Nightingale" until 1943 when she adopted the name Maine ...

and

Hasty House Farm Hasty may refer to: * Hasty, Arkansas, United States * Hasty, Colorado, United States * HMS ''Hasty'' (1894), a ''Charger'' class destroyer * HMS ''Hasty'' (H24), an ''H''-class destroyer * Hasty (racehorse), an unconsidered competitor who finish ...

. On the horses he considered the two best he ever rode, he won the 1939 Santa Anita Handicap with Kayak II and the 1954

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 ...

with Hasty Road. Adams rode six winners at Bay Meadows Racetrack on April 7, 1938.

Trainer

Upon retirement, Adams became a thoroughbred trainer. His first winner was ridden by his son, John R. Adams. His best known victory as a trainer occurred with J.O. Tobin's 1977 upset over

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

in the

Swaps Stakes The Los Alamitos Derby (formerly the Swaps Stakes) is a race for Thoroughbred horses run annually at Los Alamitos Race Course in Los Alamitos, California. The race is open to three-year-old horses and is contested at one and one-eighth miles on th ...

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

. Adams was the nation's leading rider in winning mounts in 1937, 1942, and 1943. In 1956 he was honored with the

George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct ...

, which is given by the

Jockeys' Guild The Jockeys' Guild Inc. is an American trade association based in Lexington, Kentucky, representing thoroughbred horse racing and American quarter horse professional jockeys. The organization filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in ...

annually to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.

Riding career

*Years Active: 1935-1958 *Number of Mounts: 20,159 *Number of Winners: 3,270 *Number of Place Finishes: 2,704 *Number of Show Finishes: 2,635 *Purses Earned: $9,743,109 *Winning Percentage: 16.2%

References

* * * ''The History of Race Riding and the Jockeys' Guild'' by staff members of

(1998) Turner Publishing, Nashville TN * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John American jockeys American Champion jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Lonoke County, Arkansas 1914 births 1995 deaths People from Iola, Kansas