Bill Harmatz, 79, a thoroughbred jockey who rode Royal Orbit to victory in the 1959 Preakness Stakes, died Thursday at his home in the San Diego County city of Vista, his daughter Sue Harmatz said. He had cancer.
Harmatz began racing professionally at the Caliente track in Tijuana in 1953. Based in Southern California, he had 1,770 wins by the time he retired in 1971. In the other Triple Crown races of 1959, he and Royal Orbit finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes. Bill Shoemaker won the Kentucky Derby with Tomy Lee and Shoemaker won the Belmont with Sword Dancer.
No comments:
Post a Comment