Ronald Joseph Morel Turcotte (born July 22, 1941) is a retired Canadian

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 ...

race horse

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 ...

best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973.

Career

Turcotte began his career in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

as a hot walker for E. P. Taylor's Windfields Farm in 1960, but he was soon wearing the silks and winning races. As an apprentice jockey he rode Windfields's

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...

to his first victory. He gained prominence with his victory aboard

Tom Rolfe Tom Rolfe (April 14, 1962 – June 12, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. He was the leading colt of his generation in the United States, winning the Preakness Stakes and being voted ...

in the 1965

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 ...

. Turcotte soon started working with

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

trainer Lucien Laurin at the racetrack in Laurel, Maryland. In 1972 he rode Riva Ridge to victory 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 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 ...

. Turcotte became internationally famous in 1973 when he rode Secretariat to win the first Triple Crown in 25 years, with records in each race and Secretariat's phenomenal finish 31 lengths ahead of the field in the Belmont. A photograph of Secretariat winning the Belmont, with Turcotte looking over his shoulder at the pack far behind, became famous. Turcotte was

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's leading stakes-winning jockey in 1972 and 1973. He was the first jockey to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies since Jimmy Winkfield in 1902 and the first jockey ever to have won five of six consecutive Triple Crown races (matched in 2015 by Victor Espinoza). He was voted the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, which honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. He is the first person from Thoroughbred racing ever to be appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Turcotte's career ended on July 13, 1978, when he fell from his horse, Flag of Leyte Gulf, during the 8th race at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

. He suffered injuries that rendered him a paraplegic. He 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 ...

in 1979. He was voted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame and in 1980 was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

. In 1984 he became the first recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award, given annually to the jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country who has made significant contributions to the sport. In 2015, a statue of Secretariat and Turcotte crossing the finish line at the Belmont Stakes was unveiled in Turcotte's hometown of Grand Falls, New Brunswick.

Personal life

Born in Drummond, New Brunswick, Turcotte was one of 12 children. He left school at age 14 to work with his father as a

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

, then at age 18 headed to Toronto looking for construction work. Turcotte now lives in his home town of Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada, with his wife Gaëtane and their four daughters. He is an advocate for those with disabilities and helps to raise funds for disability programs. As a well-known survivor of an on-track accident, Turcotte makes appearances at racetracks to raise funds and awareness of the assistance that the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) provides to fellow injured riders. Turcotte was hospitalized on March 9, 2015, following a single-vehicle accident in New Brunswick. The van he was driving flipped after hitting a snowbank. Turcotte and a friend were both injured in the accident. Turcotte sustained fractures to both legs, while his friend suffered minor injuries.

Media

In the 2010 Disney movie ''Secretariat'', Ron Turcotte's role as Secretariat's jockey is played by Otto Thorwarth, a real life jockey himself. Directed by Phil Comeau, a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary feature film on Ron Turcotte's life and career, ''Secretariat's Jockey, Ron Turcotte'', had its world premiere in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, in May 2013.

Notes

References

* Heller, Bill. '' The Will to Win: Ron Turcotte's Ride to Glory'' (1992) Fifth House Publishers
Ron Turcotte profile at Penny Chenery's Secretariat.com

Ron Turcotte at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Ron Turcotte at the United States ' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

External links

*
''Secretariat's Jockey - Ron Turcotte''
at the National Film Board of Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Turcotte, Ron 1941 births Living people Canadian jockeys Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Avelino Gomez Memorial Award winners American jockeys Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of New Brunswick Acadian sportspeople Sportspeople from New Brunswick New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame inductees People from Victoria County, New Brunswick People with paraplegia Canadian emigrants to the United States