Joseph Culmone (May 13, 1931 – July 23, 1996) was an American 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 ...

in the sport of

Thoroughbred 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 ...

. Culmone was born in

Delia DeliaDella as a diminutive is a feminine given name either taken from an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, or else representing a short form of '' Adelia'', '' Bedelia'', '' Cordelia'' or '' Odelia''. Meanings and origins According to ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, where he lived in a farming area and learned to ride horses. His mother died during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and in 1946 he emigrated to the United States to join his father in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. He began working as a stable hand and exercise rider at the

Atlantic City Race Course The Atlantic City Race Course (ACRC), formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, was a Thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off ...

and embarked on his jockey career at

Tropical Park Race Track Tropical Park Race Track was a horse racing facility built on at the current intersection of Bird Road and the Palmetto Expressway in Southwest Dade Miami part of metropolitan Miami, Florida and what is now Olympia Heights. The race track w ...

in Florida in late 1948. A year later, he was meeting with great success as an apprentice rider, scoring back-to-back triple wins on racecards at Tropical Park in December 1949. In 1950 Culmone tied the great

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," ...

for the most wins of any jockey in the United States with 388, a total that equaled a forty-four-year-old

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

set by Walter Miller in 1906. Culmone worked as a contract rider for the famous

Brookmeade Stable Brookmeade Stable was a thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by Dodge automobile heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924. In 1929, Sloa ...

and also rode for noted owners such as

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegrass ...

and Harry Z. Isaacs. During his career, he competed primarily at racetracks from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

along the Eastern Seaboard to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and at

Oriental Park Racetrack Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, was a thoroughbred horse-racing facility operated during the winter by the Havana-American Jockey Club of Cuba. Founded in 1915, Oriental Park was the only race track in Cuba before Fidel Castr ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. He rode five winners on a single racecard several times and on November 27, 1950 won six races on a single card at

Bowie Race Track Bowie Race Track was an American horse racing track located just outside the city limits of Bowie, Maryland. It operated from 1914 through 1985. The facility is now a training center for Thoroughbred racehorses. History The one-mile oval racetra ...

. In the U.S. Triple Crown series, Culmone had five rides 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 finish a sixth in 1957 and again in 1964. Retired from racing in 1972, Joe Culmone died in 1996 at age 65 at his home in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

.Staff
"Joseph Culmone Sr., 65, a Hall of Fame jockey"
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', July 28, 1996. Accessed January 1, 2018. "Joseph Culmone Sr., 65, a Hall of Fame jockey who rode Prince Siam to a $311,000 first-place finish in the Garden State Stakes in 1965, died of natural causes Tuesday at his Cherry Hill, N.J. home."

References

Sources

December 15, 1949 ''Miami News'' article on jockey Joe CulmoneObituary for Joseph Culmone at ''The Press of Atlantic City''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culmone, Joseph 1931 births 1996 deaths American Champion jockeys Sportspeople from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Sportspeople from the Province of Caltanissetta Italian emigrants to the United States