Frank Coltiletti (April 23, 1904 – March 1987) was an American Hall of Fame jockey in

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the 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 known as National Hunt racing in ...

. Coltiletti began his professional riding career in 1919 when he was just fifteen years old. Almost immediately he became one of the top jockeys in the country, competing two years after he began racing in his first

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 ...

. Of his eight mounts in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

, his best finishes were a second aboard Sweep All to winner

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. ...

in the 1931 running and third-place finishes in the 1926 and 1929 editions. Coltiletti made seven appearances in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs ...

. After his fourth-place finish in his 1921 Derby debut, the seventeen-year-old won the Preakness aboard

Broomspun Broomspun (1918 - June 18, 1921) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, the son of Broomstick out of a Rock Sand mare, Sun Glass. Broomspun is best known for winning the $43,000 1921 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 16, 1921, in ...

. In addition to his 1921 win, his next best result was a third with Rialto in 1923 on whom he also finished third in the Belmont Stakes. Coltiletti retired in 1934 after fifteen years in racing. He was inducted into

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 race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 1970 and the

National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit institution honoring exceptional U.S. athletes of Italian descent. In 1977 George Randazzo created the Italian American Boxing Hall of Fame. This was as a means for ra ...

in 1985. Frank Coltiletti was living in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Spring ...

when he died in 1987 just a month shy of his 83rd birthday.

References

Frank Coltiletti at the United States' National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

Frank Coltiletti at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
1904 births 1987 deaths American jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from New York City {{US-horseracing-bio-stub