Eddie Maple
Encyclopedia
Edward Retz "Eddie" Maple (born November 8, 1948 in Carrollton
, Ohio
) is a retired American
thoroughbred
horse racing
jockey
. One of eight brothers and sisters, he was an older brother to jockey Sam Maple
who won more than 2,500 races. He began riding horses at age 12 and won his first race as a professional at 17. He went on to be one of the top jockeys in the United States and a National Hall of Fame
inductee.
He began his racing career in Ohio and West Virginia, and moved to tracks in New Jersey in 1970, but then later relocated to New York in 1971.
Maple was the jockey for Hall of Famer Riva Ridge
in the 1973 Marlboro Cup, getting the ride when regular jockey Ron Turcotte
rode Secretariat
to victory in the same race. His strong 2nd place performance earned him the opportunity of a lifetime later that year when Turcotte was suspended from riding for five days, and Eddie Maple rode Secretariat to victory in his last race, the Canadian International Stakes
at Woodbine Racetrack
. In 1982 he scored his second win in the Canadian International with Majesty's Prince
.
In 1980, Eddie Maple won the Belmont Stakes
aboard Temperence Hill
and again in 1985 on Creme Fraiche
. He competed in nine Kentucky Derby
s, his best finish a second in 1982 behind winner Gato Del Sol
. Among his other major victories, Eddie Maple won the Travers Stakes
three times, the Kentucky Oaks
, the Arlington Million
, and the 1991 Italian 1,000 Guineas (Premio Regina Elena
) in Rome
, Italy
.
In 1995, Eddie Maple was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
, and in 1998, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award
. He retired in 1998 with 4,398 wins. He and his wife ran a retail home and garden store on Long Island
, New York
until 2005 when they sold the business and took on the position of General Manager at the Rose Hill Plantation Equestrian Boarding And Teaching Center in Bluffton
, South Carolina
.
Eddie was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.
Carrollton, Ohio
Carrollton is a village in Carroll County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,190 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.Carrollton is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
) is a retired American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
. One of eight brothers and sisters, he was an older brother to jockey Sam Maple
Sam Maple
Samuel A. Maple was an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.Born in Carrollton, Ohio, Sam Maple was one of eight brothers and sisters. His older brother, Eddie, was also a jockey...
who won more than 2,500 races. He began riding horses at age 12 and won his first race as a professional at 17. He went on to be one of the top jockeys in the United States and a National Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee.
He began his racing career in Ohio and West Virginia, and moved to tracks in New Jersey in 1970, but then later relocated to New York in 1971.
Maple was the jockey for Hall of Famer Riva Ridge
Riva Ridge
Riva Ridge was a thoroughbred racehorse, the winner of the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. A son of First Landing out of Iberia , he was owned and bred by the Meadow Stable of Christopher Chenery. The horse's name came from Chenery's son-in-law, John Tweedy, who was a soldier in World War...
in the 1973 Marlboro Cup, getting the ride when regular jockey Ron Turcotte
Ron Turcotte
Ron Joseph Morel Turcotte, CM is a Hall of Fame thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973....
rode Secretariat
Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...
to victory in the same race. His strong 2nd place performance earned him the opportunity of a lifetime later that year when Turcotte was suspended from riding for five days, and Eddie Maple rode Secretariat to victory in his last race, the Canadian International Stakes
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
. In 1982 he scored his second win in the Canadian International with Majesty's Prince
Majesty's Prince
Majesty's Prince was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred at John D. Marsh's farm in Gainesville, Virginia, he was out of the mare Pied Princess, a daughter of 1953 American Horse of the Year and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Tom Fool...
.
In 1980, Eddie Maple won the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
aboard Temperence Hill
Temperence Hill
Temperence Hill was a Champion American Thoroughbred stallion racehorse.Bred in Kentucky by Dr. Albert F. Polk, Jr.'s Oriskany Farm, Temperence Hill was sired by Stop The Music and out of the Etonian mare, Sister Shannon...
and again in 1985 on Creme Fraiche
Creme Fraiche (horse)
Creme Fraiche was an American thoroughbred gelding racehorse. He was sired by Rich Cream, co-holder of the world record of 1:19.40 for 7 furlongs on dirt in the 1980 Triple Bend Handicap, out of the Terrible Tiger mare, Likely Exchange.Bred by Pamela Firman and her nephew, G...
. He competed in nine Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
s, his best finish a second in 1982 behind winner Gato Del Sol
Gato Del Sol
Gato Del Sol was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was foaled at Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky, the son of U.S...
. Among his other major victories, Eddie Maple won the Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
three times, the Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
, the Arlington Million
Arlington Million
The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flathorse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1¼ miles on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois in August each year...
, and the 1991 Italian 1,000 Guineas (Premio Regina Elena
Premio Regina Elena
The Premio Regina Elena is a Group 3 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in April or May....
) in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In 1995, Eddie Maple was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...
, and in 1998, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award
Mike Venezia Memorial Award
Mike Venezia Memorial Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually by the New York Racing Association to honor a jockeys who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship...
. He retired in 1998 with 4,398 wins. He and his wife ran a retail home and garden store on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
until 2005 when they sold the business and took on the position of General Manager at the Rose Hill Plantation Equestrian Boarding And Teaching Center in Bluffton
Bluffton, South Carolina
The weather in the Bluffton, SC area is typical of the Southeast with generally mild temperatures from Fall through Spring and a warm and humid Summer. There can be occasionally snow flurries in the winter but that is quite unusual....
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Eddie was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.