Willie Shoemaker

Shoemaker, Willie (William Lee Shoemaker, 1931– ), U.S. jockey. The most successful jockey in U.S. history, he rode 4 Kentucky Derby winners (1955, 59, 65, 86) and was the first jockey to win more than $2 million in a single year (1956). Shoemaker began his career at age 18 and had ridden nearly 9,000 winning mounts when he retired in 1990. He was elected to the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1958.