American Decades
Arcaro, Eddie 1916-
JOCKEY
Young Jockey.
Eddie Arcaro quit school at age fourteen to ride racehorses, and he became one of the most successful jockeys in the history of the sport, the only rider ever to win two Triple Crowns. Five feet, two inches tall and weighing 114 pounds, Arcaro developed powerful hands and the ability to use the whip with either hand early in his career. With experience he gained the knowledge to judge pace to become the finest "money boy" in the game. During his twenty-six-year career his mounts won over $24 million.
Success.
Arcaro learned to ride almost by instinct, he once said, and rarely credited himself with a great ride, preferring to praise the horses. "You seldom hear of a jockey getting into a slump riding good horses," he explained. He rode in his first race in May 1931 and had not ridden a winner for forty-five races when he brought Eagle Bird to the wire in first place at Agua Caliente in...
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1940's Sports
