16 Facts About Eddie Arcaro

George Edward Arcaro 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 US Triple Crown twice.

Eddie Arcaro is widely regarded as one of the greatest jockeys in the history of American Thoroughbred horse racing.

Eddie Arcaro was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of an impoverished taxi driver.

Eddie Arcaro was born prematurely, and weighed just three pounds at birth; because of this, he was smaller than his classmates and was rejected when he tried out for a spot on a baseball team.

In 1934, the inaugural year of Narragansett Park, Eddie Arcaro was a comparative unknown who rode many of his early career races at 'Gansett.

Eddie Arcaro won his first Kentucky Derby in 1938 aboard Lawrin.

Eddie Arcaro is tied with Bill Hartack for most Derby wins with five, and has the most wins in the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes with six.

Eddie Arcaro won the US Triple Crown in 1941 on Whirlaway and again in 1948 on Citation.

Eddie Arcaro won the most triple crown races at 17 with the next highest total at only 11.

Eddie Arcaro won the Suburban Handicap eight times, the Wood Memorial Stakes nine times and the Jockey Club Gold Cup ten times.

In international competition, at old Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Eddie Arcaro won the 1953 Queen's Plate ; at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, he won the 1954 Washington, DC International against the best horses and riders from Europe.

In 1953 Eddie Arcaro was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, and in 1958 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Active in jockey affairs, Eddie Arcaro was a driving force behind the creation of the Jockeys' Guild.

Eddie Arcaro retired in 1962, due to severe bursitis in his arm.

Eddie Arcaro died at his Miami home in 1997 leaving behind a legacy of Ruth, Carolyn, and Bobby Arcaro.

Eddie Arcaro's body was cremated and his ashes were interred in the columbarium at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami.