LeRoy S. Jolley (January 14, 1938 – December 18, 2017) 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 ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...

. The son of horse trainer

Moody Jolley Moody S. Jolley (March 23, 1910 – February 4, 1976) was an American Thoroughbred horse race, thoroughbred horse racing owner, breeder and horse trainer, trainer. His son, LeRoy Jolley, LeRoy, trained Ridan and other horses owned by the family. ...

, LeRoy Jolley had been around horses all his life and at age nineteen received a

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

trainer's license. In 1961, the 24-year-old LeRoy Jolley was the trainer of the colt Ridan who at age two went undefeated in seven races including wins in the Arlington Futurity and the

Washington Park Futurity The Washington Park Futurity Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the now defunct Washington Park Race Track in Woodlawn, Chicago. A race on dirt for two-year-olds, it was first run in 1937 as a six furlong event. Placed o ...

. Owned by his family along with two other partners, at age three Ridan gave LeRoy Jolley victory in record time in the Hibiscus Stakes, plus the first of his three

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

wins. He then earned the first of his two

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

s while defeating the future Hall of Fame

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

Cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

. The heavy favorite going into 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 ...

, Ridan ran wide throughout the race and wound up third in a hard fought race where he and Roman Line finished a neck behind upset winner Decidedly whom Ridan had easily beaten in the

. In that year's

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 ...

at the

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

, Ridan lost by a fraction of a nose to

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

in one of the most dramatic races in American Thoroughbred racing history and one that is still written and talked about today. Jolley went on to train two Kentucky Derby winners, first with

Foolish Pleasure Foolish Pleasure (March 23, 1972 – November 17, 1994) was an American bay Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1975 Kentucky Derby. Background Foolish Pleasure was a bay horse bred at Williston, Florida by Waldemar Farms, Inc. He was owned by ...

in 1975 then with Genuine Risk in 1980. He won numerous other important American

graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

s including the 1986

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

and the 1987

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on turf. It was originally raced at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of miles. The Arling ...

with

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

plus the 1990

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Un ...

with

Meadow Star Meadow Star (May 19, 1988 – April 11, 2002) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. She was described by Breeders' Cup Inc. as "one of the greatest 2-year-old fillies ever". Foaled in Florida, Meadow Star was bred by Jaime Carrion a ...

. In 1987, LeRoy Jolley was inducted into the

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 ...

.LeRoy Jolley at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
Retrieved August 19, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolley, Leroy 1938 births 2017 deaths American racehorse trainers United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Hot Springs, Arkansas