Bill Shoemaker

Jockey Profile

Bill Shoemaker

William Lee Shoemaker alternatively known as 'Bill', 'Willie' and 'The Shoe' was born on the 19th of August 1939 in Texas. Despite his diminutive size he is a giant in horse racing and one of the all-time legends.

He rode his first professional race in March 1949 and won his first race a month later. He has an amazing 8833 career wins and won the George Woolf (another legendary jockey immortalized in the film Seabiscuit where he was played by Gary Stevens) Memorial Jockey Award as well as the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey amongst others. In 1958 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

He retired as a jockey in 1990 after having ridden in 40 350 races. He returned to the track but in the role of trainer where he had fair success.

He was involved in a drunk-driving incident in 1991 in which he was paralyzed. Completely wheelchair reliant he carried on training racehorses until he retired in 1997. He passed away in October 2003 at the age of 72. Bill Shoemaker was so incredibly small at birth that no one thought he would survive. His parents put him in a shoebox which they kept in the oven in order to keep him warm. Needless to say he survived but stayed small growing to only 4ft 11 inches (1.50m).

Bill Shoemaker - 10 Notable Wins

1954 - Florida Derby - (Correlation)

1955 - Kentucky Derby - (Swaps)

1957 - Belmont Stakes - (Gallant Man)

1963 - Preakness Stakes - (Candy Spots)

1978 - Yellow Ribbon Stakes - (Amazer)

1981 - Arlington Million - (John Henry)

1984 - Britannia Handicap - (Sikorsky)

1985 - Santa Anita Handicap - (Lord At War)

1987 - Breeders' Cup - (Ferdinand)

1990 - Hallandale Handicap - (Beau Genius) - The Shoe's last winning ride