Samuel A. Maple (July 18, 1953 - November 13, 2001) was an 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 ...

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 ...

. Born in

Carrollton, Ohio Carrollton is a village in and the county seat of Carroll County, Ohio, located southeast of Canton. The population was 3,087 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History The village was ...

, Sam Maple was one of eight brothers and sisters. His older brother,

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

, was also a jockey. He began his professional riding career in 1969 in his native Ohio at

Thistledown Racecourse Jack Thistledown Racino is a thoroughbred race track and casino in North Randall, Ohio, at the outskirts of the city of Cleveland. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Jack Entertainment. History and Information The track came under the ...

in North Randall where he got the first of his more than 2,500 career race wins. He would go on to compete at various tracks across the United States, earning wins in major races such as the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...

. In 1979, he rode

Smarten Smarten (April 17, 1976 – March 31, 2003) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful sire. Bred in Maryland by Jim and Eleanor Ryan and raced under their Ryehill Farm banner, he had a record of 27: 11-8-2 with career earnings of $716, ...

to wins in four Derbys, capturing the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and

Pennsylvania Derby The Pennsylvania Derby is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Parx Racing and Casino (formerly known as Keystone Race Track, then from 1986 through 2010 as Philadelphia Park) each year. The track's premiere event is open to horses, age three, a ...

s. In 1979, Maple was the regular jockey on Smart Angle, who earned

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

honors. On April 18, 1984, Maple set the

Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Plantation may refer to: *Oaklawn (Huntsville, Alabama), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) *Oaklawn Plantation (Leon County, Florida) *Oaklawn Plantation (Natchez, Louisiana) The Oaklawn Plantation is a historic pl ...

track record for a mile and a sixteenth in winning the

Apple Blossom Handicap The Apple Blossom Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years old or older, run under handicap conditions over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt track held annually in April ...

aboard Heatherten. In 1988, Maple was diagnosed as having a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

. He underwent surgery and returned to racing in April of the following year. In late August 1990, he was involved in a racing accident at

Louisiana Downs Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack is a 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 i ...

that broke both of his legs and kept him out of racing for several months. On September 11, 1993, Maple earned his 2,500th career win in the second race at

Turfway Park Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), ...

aboard Corvus. Maple earned his last win at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

in November 1995. After only a few rides in 1996, he retired from the sport. He and his family had made their home in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in the early 1990s but in the fall of 2001 they moved to

Wilmore, Kentucky Wilmore is a home rule-class city in Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,686 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau ...

, where he succumbed to his cancer at age forty-eight on November 13. He was survived by his wife Jill and their four children.

References

February 1, 1990 article in the Sacramento Bee titled ''Family Comes First, So Jockey Maple Moves On''

November 13, 2001 ''Thoroughbred Times'' article titled ''Former jockey Sam Maple dead at 48''

November 24, 2001 ESPN article on Sam Maple
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maple, Sam 1953 births 2001 deaths Deaths from brain cancer in the United States American jockeys People from Carrollton, Ohio Jockeys from Louisville, Kentucky