John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of

Thoroughbred racehorses 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 con ...

who was born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His father emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1909, settling in

Taber, Alberta Taber is a town in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Taber. It is approximately east of the City of Lethbridge at the intersection of Highway 3 and Highway 36. Taber is famous for its corn due to the l ...

Career

By 1912, Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son to join him in Canada. However, the Longdens' train was late getting to the port of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, and they missed their scheduled voyage to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

''. As a young man, Longden Jr. worked in the mining industry. His love of horses and

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 pr ...

, as well as his small stature standing at 4' 11', led him to leave Canada in 1927 to seek opportunities as a jockey in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

's burgeoning racing scene. Based at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

, by 1956 he had become thoroughbred racing's winningest rider, breaking the record of 4,870 wins by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

jockey Sir Gordon Richards (1904–1988). Longden, who was called "The Pumper" by his fellow jockeys because of his riding style, rode many of the great thoroughbreds of the day. In 1943, he captured the

United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three ...

winning the Kentucky Derby, 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 ...

and the Belmont Stakes aboard

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

. A sculptured bust of Longden, along with busts of fellow jockeys William Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay, has been placed in the paddock area at Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California. A founding member of the Jockeys' Guild in 1940, Longden was the United States' leading jockey in races won in 1938, 1947, and 1948. He was also the leading jockey in purses won in 1943 and 1945. He was voted the prestigious

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 condu ...

in 1952. In 1958, Longden was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He retired the following year as the jockey with the most wins in racing history with 6,032 victories from his 32,413 mounts. His last ride was in the 1966

San Juan Capistrano Handicap The San Juan Capistrano Stakes is a Grade III American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of run on the turf track held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in June. The event currently offers a purse ...

at Santa Anita Park, which he won aboard George Royal in a stretch duel. The clubhouse at Santa Anita Park contains an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

of the finish of this race. The image was used for the cover of the Santa Anita official program during the 1967 racing season.

Horse ownership and training career

Longden operated a racing stable under the name Alberta Ranches Ltd. in partnership with Frank McMahon, Wilder H. Ripley and

Max Bell George Maxwell Bell (October 13, 1912 – July 19, 1972) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, race horse owner and philanthropist. He was best known as the co-founder of FP Publications, Canada's largest newspaper syndicate in the 1960s. He built h ...

, longtime friends from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. On January 28, 1971, Longden's wife Hazel became the first woman to train a stakes winner at Santa Anita Park when her horse Diplomatic Agent won the

San Vicente Stakes The San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A Grade II event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and currently carries a purse of $200,000. Hist ...

. Longden's sons

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

and Vance Longden both became horse trainers. Following his retirement from riding, Longden turned to training and became the only person to ever win the Kentucky Derby as both a jockey and trainer when he captured the 1969 Derby with Frank McMahon's colt

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 ...

. Longden was inducted into the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The ...

on its formation in 1976. He went on to become the second ever recipient of the

Avelino Gomez Memorial Award The Avelino Gomez Memorial Award is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sp ...

in 1985, given annually to jockeys who have made significant contributions to the sport. In 1994, he was recognized further by the North American racing industry with a Special

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 ...

Harness racing

The June 12, 1954 issue of the ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceh ...

'' reported that Johnny Longden was also an owner of a

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

racehorse which he personally drove to victory in a race at Sportsman's Park in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

Television appearance

In 1957, Johnny Longden and his wife Hazel Longden, both appeared briefly as themselves on the legendary sit-com,

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along wit ...

. In the episode, "Lucy and the Loving Cup" (Season 6 Episode 12), Longden was set to receive a trophy for being the winningest jockey in history at an awards dinner at the Babalú nightclub run by Ricky Ricardo. Early in the episode, Ricky makes fun of Lucy's new hat, so she puts the trophy over her head as a joke, but it ends up stuck on her head; after many failed attempts to remove it, she is forced to comically make her way through the New York City subway system to get the trophy to the club in time for the ceremony. After a run-in with an elderly lady, a homeless man and a cop, Lucy finally makes it to the nightclub and the trophy (with Lucy's head still stuck inside) is presented to a very confused Johnny Longden. Longden thanks Ricky for the trophy but asks what he should do about Ricky's wife. Ricky replies that Lucy has been his problem for 15 years, so now Johnny can deal with her.

Last years/legacy

As of 2006, Longden still holds five track records at Santa Anita Park. Longden was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

.Famous Mormon in Rodeo and Horseracing
Longden died on his 96th birthday on St. Valentine's Day at his home in Banning, California.

References

Sources

* Beckwith, Brainerd Kellogg. ''The Longden Legend''. (1973) A. S. Barnes Publishing Co.;
Newsreel of his last race
* Drager, Marvin. ''The Most Glorious Crown: The Story Of America's Triple Crown Thoroughbreds From Sir Barton To Affirmed'' (2005)

Triumph Books Triumph Books is a Chicago-based sports book publisher. The company is well known for its "instant books", such as its illustrated tribute to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, which was released 10 days after his death in a crash in the 2001 Daytona ...

; {{DEFAULTSORT:Longden, Johnny 1907 births 2003 deaths American horse trainers American jockeys American Champion jockeys American harness racers Latter Day Saints from California Canadian Latter Day Saints English Latter Day Saints English emigrants to the United States Eclipse Award winners Sportspeople from Alberta Avelino Gomez Memorial Award winners Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Wakefield People from the Municipal District of Taber People from Banning, California People from Taber, Alberta