On opening day of the 1954 Del Mar meet, a younger rider named Invoice Shoemaker was lower than a month from turning 23 years outdated. Although nonetheless within the early chapter of what would turn out to be a storied profession, the native Texan discovered himself the engineer of probably the most dominant run by any jockey that had ever competed on the seaside observe.
Throughout the earlier 5 summers, nobody within the colony might high Shoemaker within the Del Mar standings. That, in itself, was unprecedented, however the rising star had really taken cost of the Del Mar document guide firstly of that interval:
- 1949: Grew to become the primary apprentice jockey to high the standings with a then-single season document of 52 wins.
- 1950: Set a brand new commonplace with 60 victories whereas sharing the title with John Longden.
- 1951: Completed in first place for the third consecutive 12 months, which broke a tie with Ralph Neves for probably the most jockey titles in Del Mar historical past.
- 1952: Earned fourth straight title with 56 winners.
- 1953: Established a brand new document by gathering 74 wins en path to his fifth consecutive using crown.
Based mostly on these previous couple of years, no person was going to be shocked if Shoemaker prolonged his string of dominance. That’s precisely what would occur, however not earlier than the legendary reinsman authored a marketing campaign that transcended something he had beforehand achieved at Del Mar.
Del Mar’s 1954 season commenced July 27. The Opening Day program was a productive one for Shoemaker, who scored a trio of wins to guide all riders. Though it was definitely not the primary time a Del Mar crowd had seen Shoemaker safe a using triple, it may be stated that the event had given everybody a foreshadowing of what was to return.
After the July 31 program, Shoemaker led the colony with 12 victories. His closest pursuers at the moment had been Roy Lumm and Ralph Neves, who shared second place with six wins every. On condition that it was nonetheless very early within the meet, the hole Shoemaker had over Lumm and Neves couldn’t be thought of particularly giant. However, as time would quickly affirm, the race for the using title was already determined.
Following that card, Shoemaker assault on the document books was relentless. By the point the Aug. 7 motion concluded, he had added 15 extra wins for 27 general. Furthermore, Shoemaker was now 16 victories away from Lumm, who held second place outright.
That dominance didn’t diminish; the lead would solely develop:
After Aug. 16, Shoemaker led George Taniguchi by a tally of 42-20.
After Aug. 21, Shoemaker had 55 wins to Taniguchi’s 23.
After Aug. 28, Shoemaker stood at 70 victories whereas Taniguchi had 32.
On Sept. 1, Shoemaker reached 76, topping the earlier document of 74 he had set only one 12 months earlier.
Then got here Saturday, Sept. 4. Shoemaker had his greatest day of the meet, placing collectively a then-record six wins on this system. The subsequent day produced a further 5 journeys to the winner’s circle, which introduced Shoemaker’s whole to 91. He was set to take time without work after that, however in the end returned to journey on closing day, Sept. 11. When all was stated and executed, Shoemaker completed the meet as he had began it … with one other triple.
The ultimate tally was 94 wins. In a distant second place was Lumm, who completed with 37.
Shoemaker not solely broke his personal document, he shattered it. Seventy years later, the document nonetheless belongs to him. The one jockey to return near it was Laffit Pincay Jr., who secured 86 wins in 1976 — Pincay did serve a five-day suspension throughout the meet, which inevitably makes one marvel what might need been.
Over the course of that 41-day Del Mar 1954 meet, Shoemaker was merely in one other league. He rode 36 of the 41 packages the observe hosted, and received at the very least one race in 35 of them. The statistics communicate for themselves:
- 3-win days: 13 (together with on his birthday, Aug. 19)
- 4-win days: 5
- 5-win days: 1
- 6-win days: 1
Of the 5 days Shoemaker missed, 4 of them had been as a result of trip. The one different absence was on Aug. 21 when Shoemaker traveled to Chicago’s Washington Park to journey within the American Derby, through which he completed second aboard Excessive Gun.
Shoemaker was additionally extremely instrumental within the creation of one other document that truly didn’t belong to him. On the finish of the meet, R.H. McDaniel discovered himself because the main coach with 47 victories, and 42 of these got here with Shoemaker within the saddle. And as of the summer season of 2024, no coach has come near approaching McDaniel.
For a lot of racing followers, Invoice Shoemaker is taken into account the most effective jockey who ever lived. His unimaginable 1954 season and the truth that his document stays intact serve as a reminder of his talent, his dominance, and his greatness.
