Walter Blum (September 28, 1934 – March 14, 2024) was an American

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 ...

who won 4,382 races in a 22-year career. Blum received the

George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct ...

for being the best jockey of 1964. He won the 1971

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 ...

as the jockey of 34-1 long shot Pass Catcher, which prevented Canonero II from winning the Triple Crown. He was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

in 1986, and the following year into the United States Racing Hall of Fame.

Riding career

Blum was born on September 28, 1934 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 * ...

to Morris and Fay (Sieger) Blum. His father was a newspaper delivery man. A horse racing fan from boyhood, in his teens Blum began working as a racetrack hot walker. Despite being blind in his right eye from the age of two, when he fell off a toy horse, in 1953 at 19 years of age he embarked on a career as a jockey, riding his first winner on July 29 at

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 ...

. During the better part of his 22-year career Blum rode mainly at East Coast tracks from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

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 is one of only four jockeys to ever win six races on a single card at

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease ...

. He won the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

and the

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 ...

, and almost every major stakes race on the New York circuit, including the

Whitney Handicap The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses four years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

, Frizette Stakes,

Prioress Stakes The Prioress Stakes is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the eight-week meet at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1948 at Jamaica Racetrack, it was raced there through 1959 afte ...

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-olds and up willing to race one and ...

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

Test Stakes The Test Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and run each summer at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is contested at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is an influentia ...

Beldame Stakes The Beldame Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960. The race is held annually near the beginning of October at Belmont Park and curr ...

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course i ...

, and the

Mother Goose Stakes The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late October, the race currently offers a purse of $250,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mile and a s ...

. However, in the 1960s, he rode seasonally at

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

tracks, notably winning the 1966

, and he also dominated Chicago's summer racing circuit 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 ...

Achievements

Blum won 4,382 races in a 22-year career. At the time of his retirement, only Hall of Famers

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," ...

Johnny Longden John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to ...

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple ...

, and Steve Brooks had ridden more winners. On June 19, 1961, Blum rode six winners on a single racecard at

Monmouth Park Racetrack Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

. He won more races in 1963 and 1964 than any other American jockey. In February 1965, he won the

for being the best jockey in 1964. He rode 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

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 ...

on two occasions, his best finish a fourth in both in 1967 aboard Reason to Hail. In the 1971

, he rode 34-1 long shot Pass Catcher to a victory that denied Canonero II the Triple Crown. His best-known mounts were Hall of Famers

Affectionately Affectionately (April 26, 1960 – 1979) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background She was sired by 1956 American Horse of the Year Swaps, out of the racing mare Searching. Searching's dam was Big Hurry, by Black Toney out of La ...

and Gun Bow, with one of his most famous victories coming in the 1964

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade Il stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Ra ...

when he rode Gun Bow to a win over the legendary five-time Horse of the Year Kelso. In 1969, Blum was elected president of the Jockeys' Guild and served until 1974. He rode his last mount in 1975 then went to work as a racing official at Garden State Park and the

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

racetracks. In 1978 he moved to Florida where he served as a state steward until retiring on December 30, 2004.

Death

Blum died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

Hallandale Beach, Florida Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. It is al ...

, where he lived, on March 14, 2024, at the age of 89.

Honors

Blum was

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish and was inducted into the

in 1986, and the following year into the United States Racing Hall of Fame.Walter Blum profile
jewishsports.net; accessed February 8, 2017.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Walter 1934 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Deaths from lung cancer in Florida Sportspeople from Hallandale Beach, Florida United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Jockeys from Brooklyn Jewish American sportspeople