Shoemaker, Bill (1931-2003), ranked among America’s greatest jockeys. During his racing career from 1949 to 1990, Shoemaker rode 8,833 winners in 40,350 races and won purses totaling more than $120 million. In 1956, he became the first jockey to win over $2 million in purses in one year. He rode the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby in 1955, 1959, 1965, and 1986.
William Lee Shoemaker was born on Aug. 19, 1931, in Fabens, Texas. After his retirement as a jockey, he trained race horses and began a career as an author of detective stories with a horse racing background. In 1991, Shoemaker was paralyzed in a car accident. Shoemaker died on Oct. 12, 2003.
