LONGDEN DIES ON HIS 96TH BIRTHDAY HORSE RACING LEGEND OWNED WINS MARK BEFORE SHOEMAKER.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer For decades, horse racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with fans at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. with Johnny Longden's birthday, marked each last year by the winner's-circle appearance of a frail little man and his family and friends. So it was that a few former rivals gathered at the track Friday to honor Longden, and highlights of his record-setting career as a jockey and trainer were shown on the video screens between the afternoon's early races. But instead of a celebration, friends and fans found themselves observing a moment of silence. Less than an hour before the fifth race, titled ``Happy Birthday Johnny Longden'' in the track program, Santa Anita officials got word Longden had died, having been in declining health since suffering a stroke in August. Kathy Longden said her husband died quietly at home in Banning at 1:35 p.m. on the day he turned 96. ``No pain,'' Kathy Longden said. ``He'd had a good couple of weeks. Some of the guys came out from the track. He smiled so big at them. He was so happy to see them. I know he was well-loved.'' Less than 5 feet tall, the England-born Longden had a huge impact on his sport, and particularly the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. tracks. He held the world record for career victories by a jockey from 1956 - when he broke Gordon Richards' mark of 4,870 - to 1970, when Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2. passed Longden's 6,032. He rode 1943 Triple Crown winner Count Fleet, who completed the sweep with a 25-length romp in the Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes Oldest of the three U.S. horse races that constitute the Triple Crown. The Belmont originated in 1867 and is named after August Belmont (see Belmont family). The stakes is held in early June at Belmont Park, near Garden City, Long Island; the course is 1.5 mi (2,400 m). . And by saddling Majestic Prince Majestic Prince (1966 - April 22, 1981) was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September of 1967 for a then record price of $250,000. to win the 1969 Kentucky Derby, he became the only man to win Derbies as a jockey and trainer. ``He was one of the greatest of all time,'' Shoemaker told the Associated Press on Friday. Longden was 59 when he announced he would retire after riding George Royal in the March 12, 1966, San Juan Capistrano Handicap The San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap is an American invitational handicap thoroughbred horse race run annually on turf at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In its 69th running in 2008, it was first run as an invitational handicap in 1965 and as a Grade IIT currently at Santa Anita. The jockey nicknamed ``The Pumper'' drove the 7-1 shot through a back-and-forth homestretch home·stretch n. 1. The portion of a racetrack from the last turn to the finish line. 2. Informal The final stages of an undertaking. Noun 1. duel with Plaque to win by a nose in front of 60,792 wrung-out fans. He said it was a bigger thrill than his nose victory with Noor over Citation in the 1950 Capistrano. Laffit Pincay recalled watching the George Royal race on a newsreel in his native Panama. ``I thought it was amazing that that old guy could still ride,'' said Pincay, who still competes at 56, three years after he broke Shoemaker's record of 8,833 victories. Longden won five Santa Anita Derbies, four Santa Anita Handicaps and four Hollywood Gold Cups in a 40-year riding career. ``He probably wanted to be remembered as someone who loved the horses,'' Kathy Longden said. ``When he was having hallucinations Hallucinations Definition Hallucinations are false or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions. These sensory impressions are generated by the mind rather than by any external stimuli, and may be seen, heard, felt, and even a couple of months ago, he was always at the track.'' He joined Eddie Arcaro and Sam Renick in founding the Jockeys' Guild in 1940. And he gained a place in pop culture by guest-starring on an episode of ``I Love Lucy'' on Jan. 7, 1957, in which Lucy gets a loving cup - meant to be presented to Longden - stuck on her head. None of it would have happened if the train carrying 5-year-old Johnny Longden, three sisters and their mother to Liverpool for a ship ride to Canada hadn't run slow, causing them to miss the Titanic. They sailed on a later - and better-fated - ship and joined Johnny's father and oldest sister in North America. Longden is survived by Kathy, his third wife; Eric and Andrea, children from his second marriage; and five grandchildren. Vance, his son from his first marriage, died at age 72 on Jan. 6. Funeral arrangements are pending. A Santa Anita official said the track plans a public memorial. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) LONGDEN |
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