Jockey Fred A. Smith Dies of Injuries Received in Spill at Hollywood Park: Succumbs Few Hours after Mount, Folletin, Falls with Him after Start of Race, Daily Racing Form, 1951-06-30

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a d c t I I 1 f 0 r. i I , i ■ I Bsi =. ~ ..-: d * +_ JOCKEY FRED A. SMITH— Veteran lightweight rider, died of injuries re- ceived in a fall at Hollywood Thursday. Jockey Fred A. Smith Dies of Injuries Received in Spill at Hollywood Park ; [ . ! 1 ] t : 1 1 | ] i i 1 | c j t c Succumbs Few Hours After ♦" ► Mount Folletin, Falls With I be of Him After Start of Race s Ci HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., a June 29. — The racing fraternity was saddened today by the death Thursday night ■ " of popular little jockey Fred A. Smith, who succumbed to injuries he received a few u hours earlier in the last race at Hollywood Park. The 38-year-old Cuban-American Y reinsman was fatally hurt when the horse, 1t Folletin, fell with him soon after the start |j of the eighth race, just as the field was en- 1S tering the main track from the chute at 1£ the head of the stretch. 1$ After preliminary treatment in the Hoi- lywood Park track hospital, Smith was h taken to the Centinella Hospital in Ingle- 5 wood, where he died shortly after 8:00 is oclock. Physicians said he succumbed to a 19 possible basal fracture and hemorrhage in 19 the brain stem, in addition to shock. He 19 only regained consciousness momentarily 1-after his fall. 1~ Smith was born in 1913, in Camaguey, ]jj Cuba, of an American father and a Cuban ig mother. The father owned a ranch in Cuba ig 1951 and it was there that young Smith learned the fundamentals of riding. He had been a jockey for about 15 years and during that _ time he rode on virtually all the major [ tracks of the country. At one time, Smith, as an apprentice, was "I under contract to Ben A. Jones, and frequently rode for that horseman later. Last Saturday he was astride Calumet Farms Bewitch, who was a close fourth in the Inglewood Handicap, and he was to have handled one of the Calumet starters in next Wednesdays American Handicap. 2 29. Smith also rode for the late E. R. Bradley n and for that patron piloted Bimelech into f second place behind Gallahadion in the aj 1940 running of the Kentucky Derby. w For a time here at the current Holly- x wood Park meeting, Smith was under call p to the stable of Mrs. Connie Ring, but that si agreement was dissolved several days ago. Smith was one of the best lightweight tr the riders in the country, and he was enjoying te one of his biggest seasons here at Holly- re wood Park. a| Smith formerly made his home in Miami, ci Fla., but friends say he had planned to fc for make California his home in the future. tr Smith is survived by his widow, Peggy, who was at the bedside of her husband j when he died. and The horse from which Smith fell, the pi La Jolla Farms Folletin, also suffered fatal to to injuries in the fall. ce Smith will be buried in Coral Gables, ej Fla., in accordance with the wishes of his Sp wife. Services are planned for tomorrow ac morning at a time to be set later today at th the the funeral chapel of Hardin and Flanagan, 635 S. Prairie Ave., Inglewood. w Attempts to reach Mr. and Mrs. Fred E in Smith, of Orienta, Cuba, parents of Fred- al die, have not yet been successful. Friends xi are also trying to get in touch with Peggys w brother in Pittsburgh. th the According to John Flanagan, of the un- a a dertaking establishment, on autopsy is to ♦" ► I be of s Ci a ■ " u Y 1t |j 1S 1£ 1$ h 5 is 19 19 19 1~ ]jj ig ig 1951 performed to determine the exact cause death. For a short time early Thursday evening, Smith was able to "vocalize," that is, he could speak incoherently, but he was unable to answer questions. In accordance with the desires of Hollywood Parks jockey colony, a brief ceremony in his honor was staged with the riders participating before the first race today. Smiths complete riding record follows: Amount Year Mts. 1st 2nd 3rd Unpl. P.C. Won 1933 119 7 9 17 86 .06 $ 1934 582 120 98 79 285 .21 44,785 1935. 731 118 91 66 456 .15 85,632 1936 690 121 100 75 394 .18 108,175 1937 375 56 57 51 211 .15 55,180 1938 354 59 45 32 218 .17 86,140 1939 505 91 57 58 299 .18 236,415 1940. 430 72 43 50 265 .17 195,792 1941. 299-34 35 36 194 .11 37,837 1942 360 64 39 35 222 .18 101,270 1943. 474 99 67 66 242 .21 190,807 1944 566 93 91 71 311 .16 235,945 1945. 276 47 46 30 153 .17 152,615 1946. 475 68 54 56 297 .14 231,217 1947 528 54 69 68 337 .10 255,240 1948. 394 58 46 49 241 .15 246,367 1949 292 24 46 44 178 .08 140,987 1950. 238 17 23 19 179 .07 58,975 199 29 17 14 139 .15 129,852 Totals. . 7,887 1,231 1,033 916 4,707 .16 ,593,231


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1951063001/drf1951063001_3_4
Local Identifier: drf1951063001_3_4
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800