Johnny Loftus
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| Johnny Loftus | ||
 Johnny Loftus aboard Sir Barton at the 1919 Preakness Stakes |
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| Occupation: | Jockey | |
| Birthplace: | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Birth date: | October 13, 1895 | |
| Death date: | March 23, 1976 | |
| Career wins: | 721 | |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | ||
| Major Racing Wins | ||
| hopeful Stakes (1913, 1919) Jerome Handicap (1916) Travers Stakes (1916) Toboggan Handicap (1916, 1919) Withers Stakes (1916, 1919) Gazelle Handicap (1917) Kentucky Oaks (1917) Stuyvesant Handicap (1918, 1919) Remsen Stakes (1918) Fall Highweight Handicap (1918) Tremont Stakes (1919) United States Triple Crown (1919) Kentucky Derby (1916, 1919) Preakness Stakes (1918, 1919) Belmont Stakes (1919) |
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| Racing Awards | ||
| United States Champion Jockey by earnings (1919) | ||
| Honours | ||
| United States' Racing Hall of Fame (1959) | ||
| Significant Horses | ||
| War Cloud, Regret, Pan Zareta, Man O' War, | ||
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Infobox last updated on: March 5, 2007. |
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John P. Loftus (October 13, 1895 - March 23, 1976) was an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Johnny Loftus was the first jockey to win the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. During his career, between 1909 and 1919, he won 580 races out of the 2,449 he competed in, for a very notable 23.7% success rate. In 1916 he won the Travers Stakes and Withers Stakes on "Spur" then captured the Kentucky Derby aboard George Smith. In 1917 he won the Kentucky Oaks with the filly Sunbonnett and the next year he rode War Cloud to victory in the Preakness Stakes. As well, Loftus rode Man O'War to victory in eight races. He really liked his horses.
For trainer H. Guy Bedwell and Canadian owner J. K. L. Ross, who owned a farm in Maryland, in 1919 Johnny Loftus rode Sir Barton to victory in the Kentucky Derby then only four days later won the Preakness Stakes. They went on to win the Belmont Stakes becoming the first-ever American Triple Crown winner. Loftus ended up as 1919's top money-winning jockey in the U.S.A. and retired at the end of the racing season to become a horse trainer.
In 1959, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Johnny Loftus died in Carlsbad, California in 1976.
