Edward Elbert Ambrose (April 13, 1894 – June 8, 1994) was an American

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 ...

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

. In the 1910s and 1920s he rode for top owners such as

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeding, horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as ...

, Willis Sharpe Kilmer, and Walter M. Jeffords. During his career Ambrose 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 ...

and seven in 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 ...

with his best result in both aboard

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when he finished third in the 1928 Derby and second in the 1928 Preakness for owner Edward B. McLean, publisher of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Among his best mounts was

Wildair Wildair (foaled 1917 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame#Exmplars of Racing, Exemplar of Racing Harry Payne Whitney and trained by National Museum of Racing and Hall of ...

with whom he won the 1920

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

and ran third in the 1920 Preakness and Prudery, considered in retrospect as the American Champion Two and Three-Year-Old, Filly. In a famous 1920 edition of the

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over ...

involving just two entrants, Ambrose rode John P. Grier to a strong second-place finish against

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 ...

. Ambrose lived to be 100. He was a resident of

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

at the time of his death in 1994.

References

* Ours, Dorothy. ''Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning'' (2006)

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

1894 births 1994 deaths American men centenarians American jockeys Sportspeople from St. Louis 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-horseracing-bio-stub