Clarence Joseph Kummer (August 8, 1899 – December 18, 1930) was a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

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 four

American Classic Races In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

. In early 1920, Kummer rode the 1919 Triple Crown Champion

Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...

to a new Saratoga track record in winning the Saratoga Handicap. In May 1920 he was given the opportunity to ride

Man o' War Man o' War was a thoroughbred racehorse considered an all-time great. Man o' War (or capitalization variations thereof) may also refer to: Animals * Portuguese man o' war, a floating marine animal found in the Atlantic that resembles a jellyfish ...

. He rode the horse to nine wins in nine starts. Kummer's successes in 1920 made him that year's top money-winning jockey in the United States. Clarence Kummer won the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

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 ...

twice each and had four mounts in the

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 ...

with his best result a second-place finish in 1923. In a relatively short career he won numerous important races, including the 1925 edition of the prestigious

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

, but by the end of the latter part of the 1920s constantly battled weight gains and was forced to retire after the 1928 racing season in which he had won his second

. He then worked as an exercise rider for trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons but was attempting a comeback in 1930 when he died 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 ...

believed to have been as a result of his weakened physical condition brought on by a harsh dieting regimen. On December 1, 1921, Clarence Kummer married Marion Gascoyne. They had one daughter, Jacqueline (died 2007) In 1932, his widow married another future Hall of Fame jockey,

Earl Sande Earl Harold Sande (November 13, 1898 – August 19, 1968) was an American Hall of Fame jockey and thoroughbred horse trainer. Early life in South Dakota Born in Groton, South Dakota, Earl Sande started out as a bronco buster in the early 1900s b ...

. Clarence Kummer was inducted in the United States' Racing Hall of Fame in 1972.

References

*
''Time'' magazine obituary for Clarence KummerNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame profile for inductee, Clarence Kummer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kummer, Clarence 1899 births 1930 deaths American Champion jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Jockeys from New York City Deaths from pneumonia in New York City