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 1,46 ...

) 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 c ...

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 p ...

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 ...

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 ...

. His first race as a professional jockey came at Fair Grounds Race Course in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

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 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 New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

, in 1959 he won Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate. The horse went on to win the Canadian Triple Crown, although

Avelino Gomez Avelino Gomez (1928 – June 21, 1980) was a Cuban-born Hall of Fame jockey in American and Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Born in Havana, Gomez began a career as a jockey at the urging of a family member. He won his first race in Mexic ...

took the mount for the final two legs. Ussery's best finish in the

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 ...

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 2-year-old champion, Hail To Reason. 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 Saturd ...

and the Flamingo Stakes en route to a second-place finish in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

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 () on ...

. 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. However, phenylbutazone, 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 excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra. Cel ...

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 Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing ...

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 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 2011, he was inducted into the

Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

References

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