Samuel Jesse Doggett (November 29, 1871 - October 4, 1935) was one of the leading American Thoroughbred horse 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 ...

s of the 1890s and a founding director of the Horsemen's Protective Association who went on to train and own racehorses.

Riding career

Samuel Doggett began his career in horse racing as an exercise boy and began riding competitively as a fifteen-year-old in 1887 in County Fair races. By the early 1890s his success at the big racetracks led to his hiring by major stable trainers including Matthew Allen, John Hyland, John Rogers and Walter Rollins. In 1895, the ''

Boston Post ''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston, Massachusetts, Boston businessmen, Charles Gordon Greene, Charles G. Gr ...

'' reported he was among the elite jockeys and was earning in excess of $10,000 a year. (US$300,522 in 2018) By the early years of the

1900s The 1900s may refer to: * 1900s (decade), the decade from 1900 to 1909 * The century from 1900 to 1999, almost synonymous with the 20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM ...

American jockeys were in great demand by owners throughout

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and in 1901 Doggett joined

Fred Taral Frederick J. "Fred" Taral (August 2, 1867 – February 13, 1925) was an American Hall of Fame jockey. Jockey career Taral began his career in racing in the 1880s at small racetracks in Oklahoma. In 1883, he rode his first competitive thorough ...

in signing a lucrative contract to ride in

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. Samuel Dogget's biography in the 1898 edition of ''The American Turf'' reported that "Throughout his career, Doggett has been noted for temperance, attention to business, and frugality" and that his home was "one of the most beautiful places in Gravesend, Brooklyn".

The American Classics

Samuel Doggett rode Dr. Rice in the June 10, 1893 Belmont Stakes, marking the first of three appearances in races that would become part of the U.S. Triple Crown series. In a field of five runners, he was aboard the favorite Dr. Rice, who had won the

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York (state), New York. T ...

, but it would be African-American jockey Willie Simms aboard Commanche who won by a head. On June 2, 1896, Samuel Doggett rode Del Paso II in the 1896 Belmont Stakes for the Marcus Daly stable, finishing fourth and last to August Belmont Jr.'s colt,

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. In a year when 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 ...

was run four days after the Belmont Stakes, on June 6, 1896, Dodgett rode Hamilton II to a second second-place finish in the 1896 Preakness Stakes behind winner

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

. Still active as an owner, he hired top trainer A. J. Goldsborough and with Canadian jockey Guy Burns aboard Doggett's

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Angerona they won the 1909

Fashion Stakes The Fashion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies. Raced on dirt over a distance of five furlongs, it was run annually from 1889 through 2005. Inaugurated at Morris Park Racecourse in Westchester County, New York, ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

Training career

In 1903 Samuel Doggett was no longer riding but had begun to train a small stable of four horses for himself then for other owners. In February 1907 he announced his retirement from racing and relocated to

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to go into the dry goods business with his brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doggett, Samuel 1871 births 1935 deaths American jockeys American horse trainers American racehorse owners and breeders People from Vermilion County, Illinois People from Gravesend, Brooklyn