Mack Garner
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Andrew Mack Garner (December 23, 1898 – October 28, 1936) was an American jockey who won the 1934
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 ...
as well as the 1929 and 1933
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 ...
. He was inducted in 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 ...
in 1969. Mack Garner made his professional racing debut on July 16, 1914, at a
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racetrack.


Personal life

Always known by Mack, Garner was born in
Centerville, Iowa Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville's coal mining industry attracted ...
on December 23, 1898, to Theodore Garner and Sarah Clements Garner. He learned how to ride horses from his father. When he was 15 years old, Garner wanted to ride race horses because the Garners were all jockeys at one time, including his father and uncle. Once Garner learned the basics of horse riding, he and his father began working for William Cain. Garner was married in 1920 to Willis M. Leslie and they had four girls and one boy. His brothers
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, Harry and Wayne were all jockeys as was their sister's son William Garner Rinehart who rode under the name Willie Garner.


Career

Garner was 5 feet three inches tall and 67 pounds when he started his professional career. He debuted professionally on July 16, 1914, at a
Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...
racetrack on the horse Gold Ball. His first winning race was with the horse Sam Connor on August 15, 1914. Garner said of his winning race, "Was I tickled? Well, I'll say I was. Imagine a kid my size and weight riding a winner at one mile and sixteenth!" In 1915, he won more races and more prize money than any jockey in the United States. In 1929, he again led all jockeys in earnings with $314,975. Garner went from riding for Cain to riding for J. L. Holland. He then rode for Price and Corrigan who paid $25,000 for his contract. The next people he rode for were R. L. Baker, J. C. Milan, Pete Coyne, and then Moe Lowenstein. In 1921, he won the
Latonia Derby The Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half ...
on the horse Brother Bach. He gained more attention when he beat the famous horse Morvich in a race while using a then unknown horse named Surf Rider in August 1922 in
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. A 1923 article from ''
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'' stated that Garner "has ridden for every important horse racer in the country". The same article proclaimed Garner and his rival
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 ...
as the world's greatest horse racers. In November 1923, Garner and Sande raced each other at the Latonia Derby with Garner riding In Memoriam and Sande riding Zev. Despite injuring his chest and breaking his shoulder shortly before the race began, he won the race against Sande. The two of them used the same horses two weeks later at Churchill Downs in
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to race again. Garner and In Memorium were originally stated to be the winners, but it was later decided that it was a tie. In 1929, Garner won the American Classic at
Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...
in Illinois. Garner entered 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 ...
in 1929 on the horse Blue Larkspur and won fourth place. Later, Garner and Blue Larkspur won the
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 ...
and Blue Larkspur was named horse of the year. He won the Belmont Stakes again in 1933. He won the 1934
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 ...
while riding the horse Cavalcade. Garner stated that his Kentucky Derby win with Cavalcade was the happiest day of his life. When asked what he considered the best horse that he has ever ridden by ''
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...
'' in 1929, Garner said, "I have ridden a number of fast horses - Polydor, Miss Joy, Iron Mask, Pan Zaretta, Rockminster and others. But Blue Larkspur, I'm certain, is the best horse I ever rode over a distance of ground." During his lifetime, Garner rode in 8,128 races and won 1,346 of them.


Death

Garner had two heart attacks on October 28, 1936, and then had his third one on the same day at St. Elizabeth Hospital in
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after competing earlier in the day at River Downs racetrack near
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, Ohio. The third
blood clot A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...
of the heart killed Garner at 37 years old. Garner was buried at Linden Grove Cemetery in Covington, Kentucky. In 1954, Garner was put in the ''Des Moines Register'' Sports Hall of Fame. In 1969, he was posthumously 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 ...
. On September 9, 1995, Garner's great-granddaughter Karen O' Brien said in a speech to the Northern Kentucky University literature class that she was in, "I know most of you have heard of, and some of you might have attended at least one Derby. Although I doubt that any of you have ever heard of Mack Garner, I am proud to tell you that he was my great-grandfather."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Mack American jockeys American Champion jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Centerville, Iowa Sportspeople from Covington, Kentucky Sportspeople from Iowa 1898 births 1936 deaths