William Lloyd Kelsay (October 20, 1892 – April 26, 1952) was one of the top jockeys in American

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

during the 1920s who was widely respected for his ability to handle two-year-old horses during their first year of racing.

Racing career highlights

In 1917 Kelsay won the inaugural running of the Coffroth Handicap in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, a race run in February that became a major event for horsemen on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. The race would attract such star runners as Australia's superhorse

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial ...

and the popular future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

and

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

. Riding for the stable of Walter Salmon, in 1920 Kelsay was aboard the filly Careful in nine of her starts and won all of them. Included in those nine starts were

stakes race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

wins in the

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Clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, Pimlico Nursery,

Schuylerville Schuylerville () is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The village is located in the northeastern part of the Town of Saratoga, east of Saratoga Springs. The Village of Victory is adjacent to Schuylerville to the southwest ...

and the Spring Juvenile Stakes en route to her earning American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors. In 1921, former jockey turned trainer

Willie Knapp William J. Knapp (August 21, 1888 – October 26, 1972) was an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He was known for racing horses such as Exterminator and Sun Briar. He became the jockey for Exterminator in the 1918 Kentuck ...

put Kelsay on the future Hall of Fame

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Exterminator to win the Autumn Stakes at the

Old Woodbine Race Course Greenwood Raceway (originally Woodbine Race Course) was a horse racing facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Woodbine Race Course Inaugurated in 1874 as Woodbine Race Course at the foot of Woodbine Avenue and Lake Ontario, it was owned an ...

in Toronto, Canada. Competing at Havana's

Oriental Park Racetrack Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, was a thoroughbred horse-racing facility operated during the winter by the Havana-American Jockey Club of Cuba. Founded in 1915, Oriental Park was the only race track in Cuba in the days before ...

in 1922, Willie Kelsay had wins in two premier events that regularly drew some of the top American stables. On February 12 he rode the Goldapple Stables' colt

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to victory in the

Cuban Grand National Handicap Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

for trainer Frank Bray. Then, on March 27 Kelsay won the

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aboard Thomas Monahan's colt Rebuke, again for trainer Frank Bray. Willie Kelsay suffered a broken kneecap on March 2, 1926 while competing at Tijuana for the stable owned by Gifford Cochran. His injury did not heal and he returned to the

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where in June he underwent surgery at

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fac ...

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. By the end of October he was back to riding and winning. Among Kelsay's other significant wins, in 1928 and 1929 he rode the winner of the

Empire City Derby The Empire City Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1917 through 1933 at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, the event was contested at a mile and one-eighth a ...

and in 1930 won the

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

, Fleetwing and

Manhattan Handicap The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manh ...

s, plus 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 ...

, all of which were for Gifford Cochran's stable under future Hall of Fame trainer, Henry McDaniel. In 1929 Willie Kelsay played a significant role in the development of Gifford Cochran's two-year-old colt

Flying Heels Flying Heels (1927–1940) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won stakes races at age two through six, including a number which are Grade I events today. Bred and raced by Gifford A. Cochran, he was sired by the 1925 Kentucky Derby wi ...

, winning the Nursery Handicap,

Pimlico Futurity The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the riches ...

, and

Remsen Handicap The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...

. The following year, Kelsay was part of another success story with a two-year-old horse when he rode the undefeated Vander Pool to win the 1930 editions of the Youthful, Bowie Kindergarten and

Aberdeen Stakes The Aberdeen Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1913 through 1947 at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Open to two-year-olds of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of four-and-a-half f ...

, the latter a race he had earlier won with Careful. Willie Kelsay was retired and living in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

when he died at age 59 on April 26, 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelsay, Willie 1892 births 1952 deaths American jockeys People from Wasco County, Oregon