Donald R. Pierce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Don Pierce | ||
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| Occupation: | Jockey | |
| Birthplace: | United States | |
| Birth date: | April 13, 1937 | |
| Career wins: | Not found | |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | ||
| Major Racing Wins | ||
| Del Mar Handicap (1958, 1966) Longacres Mile (1958) Santa Anita Handicap (1960, 1962, 1965, 1972) Santa Anita Oaks (1960, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1983) Hopeful Stakes (1962) California Breeders' Champion Stakes (1963, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978) Santa Anita Derby (1964, 1979) Sanford Stakes (1964) Acorn Stakes (1965) Schuylerville Stakes (1965) Santa Ynez Stakes (1966, 1970, 1974) Santa Monica Handicap (1968, 1976, 1977) Los Angeles Handicap (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973) Santa Ana Handicap (1969, 1973, 1976) Santa Barbara Handicap (1969) Santa Margarita Handicap (1969, 1975, 1978) San Diego Handicap (1970) Del Mar Oaks (1973, 1974, 1977) Bay Meadows Handicap (1974) Lawrence Realization Stakes (1976) Santa Maria Handicap (1976, 1977) |
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| Honours | ||
| George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award (1967) | ||
| Significant Horses | ||
| Smogy Dew, Hill Rise, T. V. Commercial Collaborator, Flying Paster |
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Donald R. Pierce (born April 13, 1937) is a retired American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing.
Based in California, Pierce was a leading jockey in the 1960s and 1970s and in 1967 was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award which honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. Of this recognition by his peers, Pierce said "I've got the trophy sitting on my mantle and it's very important to me. Without a doubt, it ranks close to anything I ever achieved in racing. It's very, very special."
Pierce was a four-time winner of California's most prestigious race, the Santa Anita Handicap, and twice won the most important West Coast race for three-year-olds, the Santa Anita Derby. Out of five appearances in the Kentucky Derby, his best result came in 1980 when he rode Elmendorf Farm's Super Moment to a fourth place finish. In his only Preakness Stakes, he finished fourth aboard Flying Paster.
Between 1969 and 1973, Pierce set a California stakes race record by winning five straight editions of the Los Angeles Handicap.
Retired and living in Encinitas, not far from the Del Mar Racetrack, in 2006, Don Pierce was nominated for induction in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. As of 2007, he was still involved in the industry, maintaining an ownership stake in at least one racehorse.
His brother, Larry Pierce was also a jockey who rode on the West Coast. He is known for his success at race tracks in Washington state where he rode Washington Racing Hall of Fame inductee Turbulator to many of his important wins including a world record for 6 1/2 furlongs.
