Earl Dew
Earl Dew | |
---|---|
Occupation | Jockey |
Born |
1921 Sac City, Iowa, United States |
Died | February 2, 1941 |
Career wins | Not found |
Racing awards | |
United States Champion Jockey by wins (1940) | |
Significant horses | |
Mioland |
Earl Dew (1921 - February 2, 1941) was an American Champion jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing who was being hailed as one of the most promising riders of his generation when he died at age nineteen as a result of a racing accident.
Earl Dew was born in Sac City, Iowa, the son of Mable Hass and her husband, John Dew. His father raced horses in the Midwestern United States and Earl learned to ride at an early age. He began his professional career in 1937 and by 1938 was making a name for himself when he competed at tracks such as Sportsman's Park in Chicago. Later that year, Earl Dew was the leading rider at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans until he was sidelined with a broken leg as a result of a November 29 racing accident. In 1939, Earl Dew rode at Santa Anita Park, Bay Meadows and Tanforan in California, plus at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico.
Championship year
During 1940 Earl Dew captivated North American racing fans when he and fellow 19-year-old jockey Walter Lee Taylor battled for that year's riding title and were tied with two days left on the calendar. In what the New York Times described as the "Transcontinental Struggle for American Championship," Dew was competing at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico and Taylor at Tropical Park Race Track in Coral Gables, Florida. On the final day, Earl Dew captured the 1940 national championship with 287 wins, one more than his opponent who had been injured in a fall during the same day.
The January 16, 1941 Los Angeles Times reported that Earl Dew said the best horse he rode in 1940 was Mioland, a colt bred and raced that year by Oregon Senator H. W. Ray.
On January 7, 1941, Iowa native sons Earl Dew and baseball star Bob Feller were honored at ceremonies in the state capital of Des Moines. On February 2, Dew was at the Agua Caliente Racetrack for a gold watch presentation in recognition of his 1940 jockey's championship clinched at that track. He was riding in the sixth race when he was involved in a three-horse accident and died of a cerebral hemorrhage resulting from a fractured skull while en route to hospital. On March 3 a special ceremony was held in his memory at Santa Anita Park.
Earl dew is buried in the Cory Grove Cemetery in his hometown of Sac City, Iowa.
References
- January 6, 1941 TIME magazine article on the battle for the 1940 jockey championship
- Official Jockeys' Guild History on the death of Earl Dew
- February 10, 1941 TIME magazine obituary for Earl Dew