Kentucky Derby Stories and Champions 1930s
Jockeys Exchanged Blows in 1933 -- Gallant Fox Sired Derby Winner
Apr 23, 2009
It wasn't pretty down the lane of the 1933 Kentucky Derby as jockeys Don Meade, an eighteen-year-old, and Herb Fisher actually threw blows at each other as they barreled toward the wire, each trying to gain an advantage aboard their mounts, Brokers Tip and Head Play, respectively.
Back in the 1930s that behavior was mildly sanctioned. It wasn't far from normal racing tactics. Riding was rough and tumble then; winners take all, losers better luck next time.
The Sport of Kings since has come under tighter restrictions where the conduct of jockeys is concerned, not only for the benefit of the men who ride one thousand pound animals at top speeds, but for the safety of the Thoroughbreds, as well.
Kentucky Derby Champions of the 1930s
- 1930 --- Gallant Fox ----- trainer, James Fitzsimmons; jockey Earl Sande
- 1931 --- Twenty Grand ----- James Rowe Jr. --- Charley Kurtsinger
- 1932 --- Burgoo King ----- H.J. Thompson --- Eugene James
- 1933 --- Brokers Tip ----- H.J. Thompson --- Don Meade
- 1934 --- Cavalcade ----- R.A. Smith --- Willie Garner
- 1935 --- Omaha ----- James Fitzsimmons --- Willie Saunders
- 1936 --- Bold Venture ----- Max Hirsch --- Ira Hanford
- 1937 --- War Admiral ----- George Conway --- Charley Kurtsinger
- 1938 --- Lawrin ----- Ben A. Jones --- Eddie Arcaro
- 1939 --- Johnstown ----- James Fitzsimmons --- James Stout
Tales From the 1930s Kentucky Derby
Omaha was a bit of a fighter when shoved about, so Willie Saunders had to keep him away from his rivals in a race and negotiate outside space for the tall, rangy warrior.
Gallant Fox, 1930 Triple Crown champion, sired Omaha. They are the only father-son combination to both win the Triple Crown.
Sunny Fitz Gets Third Derby Triumph
James Fitzsimmons, the trainer who abandoned Seabiscuit, won his third Kentucky Derby in 1939 with Johnstown, a thin bay son of champion foreign great-grandsire stock.
To win his first Kentucky Derby, eventual Hall of Fame rider Eddie Arcaro was cautioned by trainer Ben A. Jones to avoid holes along the inside of Churchhill Downs' track. Arcaro was breaking from the No. 1 post with Lawrin, who nimbly stepped across crevices unharmed to the wire.
War Admiral became the nation's third Triple Crown champion of the 1930s and fourth all time. A son of super sire Man o' War, he was undefeated In 1937.
The 1930s produced the nation's first female trainer, Mary Hirsch, daughter of the famous Max Hirsch.
Harry Payne Whitney and his wife, Helen Hay, owned four Kentucky Derby winners: Regret, 1915; Whiskery, 1927; Twenty Grand, 1931; and Shut Out, 1942. The couple ran Thoroughbreds in fifty-nine KD's.
In 1934, Jockey Willie Garner won his first Kentucky Derby from his fourteenth try at the Run for the Roses gala.
Eugene James was one of three jockeys from the 1932 Derby who later died under strange circumstances. James had the mount on the winner, Burgoo King. Several weeks later, James drowned in Lake Michigan at the age of nineteen.
