Bayard Tuckerman Jr. (April 19, 1889 – April 14, 1974) was an American jockey, businessman, and politician.

Early life

Tuckerman was born on April 19, 1889 in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

, to

Bayard Tuckerman Bayard Tuckerman (2 July 1855 New York City - 20 October 1923) was a United States biographer and historian. He was the son of Lucius Tuckerman an iron manufacturer and Elizabeth Wolcott Gibbs Tuckerman. Biography He studied for two years in Neuch ...

and Annie Smith Tuckerman. He was raised in

Hamilton, Massachusetts Hamilton is a town in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,561. Currently the town has no manufacturing industry and no industrially-zoned land. Though ...

and educated at St. Mark's School, Sanford School, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Horse racing

From 1910 to 1915, Tuckerman rode 100 steeplechase horses. He had 16 wins, but placed in 54% of his races. He was considered a leading amateur rider in the 1920s. In 1927 rode a horse in the

American Grand National The Grand National Hurdle Stakes is an American National Steeplechase Association sanctioned steeplechase race run each fall at Far Hills, New Jersey. It is a Grade 1 event run over miles. It has been known by a variety of names over the years, i ...

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 ...

. In the 1930s, Tuckerman raced flat runners and jumpers under the name of Essex Stable. Tuckerman was a leader the campaign to legalize parimutuel racing in Massachusetts. He helped found

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to crea ...

and was the track's first president. The track named a stakes race in his honor. He also helped turn the old auto racetrack at

Rockingham Park Rockingham Park was a horse racing establishment in Salem, New Hampshire, in the United States. First built in 1906, it was used as an area for many to gamble on the weekends. Seabiscuit raced there in 1935 and 1936,''Daily Racing Form'' staff (2 ...

into a horse racing course. Tuckerman and his second wife Milicent founded Little Sunswick Farm. The couple would breed a number of stakes winners including

Lavender Hill The A3036 is an A roads in Great Britain, A road in London, England, running from Waterloo, London, Waterloo to Wandsworth. Route It starts at the southern tip of the County Hall roundabout where the A302 road, A302 Westminster Bridge, York ...

, 1954's

American Champion Older Female Horse The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a filly or mare, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of the ...

. In 1973 he was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame.

Military service

After attending officers training at the

Plattsburg Barracks The "Old Stone Barracks" is the last remaining structure of a proposed quadrangle of early U.S. Army barracks built at Plattsburgh, New York in 1838. Of the four main buildings initially planned for the Plattsburgh post, only two were ever con ...

, Tuckerman was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

on November 27, 1917. He was then transferred to

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of Quartermaster Corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

and assigned to Remount Division. While serving with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

, he was assistant remount officer for the advance section

Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

, and 1st Corps Observation Group, and remount officer for the

77th Infantry Division 77th Division or 75th Infantry Division may refer to: *77th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Germany *77th Infantry Division of Khurasan, Iran *77th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) *77th Division (People's Republic of China) *77th Division (Spain ...

. He was discharged on February 25, 1919. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Tuckerman drove an ambulance for the

American Field Service AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is an international youth exchange organization. It consists of over 50 independent, not-for-profit organizations, each with its own network of volunteers, professiona ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Politics

Tuckerman's political career began as a member of the Hamilton Board of Selectmen. From 1929 to 1931 he was a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. From 1937 to 1941 he was a member of the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

Business career

Tuckerman worked for the insurance firm Obrion, Russell & Co. from his graduation from Harvard 1911 until his death in 1974. He also served as a director of

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...

, the Rockland-Atlas National Bank of Boston, and the

Boston Garden-Arena Corporation The Boston Garden-Arena Corporation was an American corporation that oversaw the operations of the Boston Garden from 1934 to 1973. It was formed when the Boston Arena Corporation gained control of the Boston Garden from the Madison Square Garden ...

Personal life

On June 20, 1916 he married Phyllis Sears, daughter of wealthy Bostonian

Herbert M. Sears Herbert Mason Sears (1867–1942) was a noted yachtsman and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his contributions during World War I. Family He was born into a prominent New England family, a Mayflower ...

, in

Beverly Farms Beverly Farms is a neighborhood comprising the eastern part of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts, in Massachusetts's North Shore region, about 20 miles north of Boston. Beverly Farms is an oceanfront community with a population of about 3,500, ...

. In 1924 the couple hosted Edward, Prince of Wales. One of their sons,

Herbert Tuckerman Herbert Sears Tuckerman (May 2, 1921 – August 8, 2007) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate. Early life Tuckerman was born on May 2, 1921 in Boston. His father Bayard ...

, would follow his father into politics. She filed for divorce on December 6, 1940 in

Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas—West Las Vegas ("Old Town") and East Las Vegas ("New Town" ...

, citing cruelty. Tuckerman stated that he had expected the action and would not contest it. On August 10, 1946, Tuckerman married Milicent Ewell Whittall at a private ceremony in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. She continued to breed horses following Tuckerman's death. Her horses included Rise Jim, winner of the

Tom Fool Handicap The Tom Fool Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-olds and older at a distance of six furlongs on the dirt run annually in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. The event currently of ...

in 1981 and 1982. She died on December 3, 2003 at the age of 94.

Death

Tuckerman died on April 14, 1974 at his home in

Westport, Massachusetts Westport (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,339 at the 2020 census. The village of North Westport lies in the town. Other named areas of the town are "Westport Point," which has a do ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuckerman, Bayard Jr 1889 births 1974 deaths American jockeys Harvard University alumni Massachusetts Republicans Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from Hamilton, Massachusetts People from Westport, Massachusetts People from Morristown, New Jersey Military personnel from Massachusetts Suffolk Downs executives United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American politicians