Charles Kurtsinger (November 16, 1906 – September 24, 1946) was an American

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

and National Champion

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

who won the Triple Crown in 1937. Known as "Charley" and nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman", Kurtsinger was born in

Shepherdsville, Kentucky Shepherdsville is a home rule-class city on the Salt River in Bullitt County, Kentucky, United States. It is the second largest city and seat of its county, located just south of Louisville. The population was 14,201 during the 2020 U.S. Cens ...

and learned race riding from his jockey father and from veteran rider

Mack Garner Andrew Mack Garner (December 23, 1898 – October 28, 1936) was an American jockey who won the 1934 Kentucky Derby as well as the 1929 and 1933 Belmont Stakes. He was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1969. Mack Garner ...

. Among his career achievements, he won the 1931

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

aboard

Twenty Grand Twenty Grand (1928–1948) was an American thoroughbred race horse. Owned and bred by Helen Hay Whitney's Greentree Stable, Twenty Grand was a bay colt by St. Germans out of Bonus. Racing career Trained at age three by James G. Rowe, Jr ...

and the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

in 1933 with

Head Play Head Play (April 2, 1930 – December 11, 1954) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1933 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series of races and as the horse on the losing end of the "Fighting F ...

. However, he is best known as the jockey of U.S. Triple Crown champion

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse and the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the "Match Ra ...

. In 1931 and 1937, Kurtsinger was the leading U.S. jockey in earnings. Over his career, he won 12.8% of his starts. Kurtsinger was the jockey on War Admiral in the famous 1938

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams cons ...

with

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-hors ...

. Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling book '' Seabiscuit: An American Legend'' recounts the story. In the movie version, Kurtsinger was played by retired Hall of Fame jockey

Chris McCarron Christopher John McCarron (born March 27, 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He mounted his first horse ever at 16.5 years old and was racing professionally by 18. At only 19 years ...

. Dealing with an injury that was not healing properly, Kurtsinger retired in 1939. He turned to

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

but died of complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1946 at the age of 39 and was inducted into the United States'

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in 1967.

References

External links

War Admiral biography

Photo of Charles Kurtsinger aboard Sun Beau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtsinger, Charles American jockeys American Champion jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees 1906 births 1946 deaths People from Shepherdsville, Kentucky Sportspeople from the Louisville metropolitan area