Walter Blum (born September 28, 1934,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York) is a retired Hall of Fame jockey.

Riding career

A horse racing fan from boyhood, in his teens Blum began working as a racetrack hotwalker. Despite being blind in his right eye from the age of two, when he fell off a toy horse, in 1953 he embarked on a career as a jockey, riding his first winner on July 29 at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...

. During the better part of his 22-year career Blum rode mainly at East Coast tracks from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and is one of only four jockeys to ever win six races on a single card at

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

. However, in the 1960s he rode seasonally at

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 ...

tracks, notably winning the 1966

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is one ...

, and he also dominated Chicago's summer racing circuit at

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago reg ...

Achievements

On June 19, 1961, Blum rode six winners on a single racecard at

Monmouth Park Racetrack Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

. He won more races in 1963 and 1964 than any other American jockey. He rode in the Kentucky Derby and

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 ...

on two occasions, his best finish a fourth in both in 1967 aboard Reason to Hail. In the 1971 Belmont Stakes, he rode Pass Catcher to a victory that denied Canonero II the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. His best-known mounts were Hall of Famers

Affectionately Affectionately (April 26, 1960 – 1979) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background She was sired by 1956 American Horse of the Year Swaps, out of the racing mare Searching. Searching's dam was Big Hurry, by Black Toney out of La ...

and Gun Bow with one of his most famous victories coming in the 1964

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Rac ...

when he rode Gun Bow to a win over the legendary Kelso. In 1969, Blum was elected president of 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 ...

and served until 1974. He rode his last mount in 1975 then went to work as a racing official at

Garden State Park Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums. Garden ...

and the Atlantic City racetracks. In 1978 he moved to Florida where he served as a state steward until retiring on December 30, 2004.

Honors

Blum is Jewish and was inducted in the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...

in 1986, and the following year in the United States Racing Hall of Fame.Walter Blum profile
jewishsports.net; accessed February 8, 2017.

References

Sources

* ttp://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/jockey.asp?ID=167 Walter Blum profile at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame website {{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Walter 1934 births Living people American jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Brooklyn Jewish American sportspeople 21st-century American Jews