Ovie Scurlock is a former 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:...

 in American 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...

.

Born in Paintsville, Kentucky

Paintsville, Kentucky

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,132 people, 1,681 households, and 1,079 families residing in the city. The population density was 786.1 people per square mile . There were 1,901 housing units at an average density of 361.7 per square mile...

, Scurlock began his professional riding career in 1938 at Fairmount Park Racetrack

Fairmount Park Racetrack

Fairmount Park Racetrack is a horse racing track in Collinsville, Illinois, a part of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The track hosts Thoroughbred flat racing. It is one of five horse racing venues currently active in Illinois, and the only one outside the Chicago, Illinois metro area...

 in Collinsville, Illinois

Collinsville, Illinois

Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,016. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area...

. A year later, on August 26, 1939, at Ellis Park Racecourse in Henderson, Kentucky

Henderson, Kentucky

Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...

, he rode a three-year-old colt, Mr. Ambassador, to a world record time of 1:39 2/5 for a mile and 40 yards.

During his career, Scurlock rode for prominent owners such as George D. Widener, Jr.

George D. Widener, Jr.

George Dunton Widener, Jr. was an American businessman and thoroughbred racehorse owner; one of only five people ever designated "Exemplars of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.-Biography:...

, Harry Guggenheim, Ada L. Rice

Dan and Ada Rice

Daniel F. Rice and his wife Ada L. Rice were American businesspeople, thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, and philanthropists. Dan Rice was educated in the public school system of Chicago, Illinois and spent two years at Depaul University and the University of Notre Dame. In 1919, he...

, and Herbert M. Woolf

Herbert M. Woolf

Herbert M. Woolf was an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.Herbert Morris Woolf was born on October 11, 1880, graduated from Central High School in 1898. He was the president of Woolf Brothers, the Kansas City based luxury goods department store founded in 1865 by his father,...

. He was also a regular rider during the early 1950s for the Brandywine Stable of Donald P. Ross as well as one of the riders for Calumet Farm

Calumet Farm

Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...

.

Scurlock won a number of important races of his era, such as the Lawrence Realization Stakes

Lawrence Realization Stakes

The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.-History:...

 in 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...

, the Arlington Classic

Arlington Classic

The Arlington Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-old horses held annually at the end of June at Arlington Park race track near Chicago, Illinois...

 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, and the Pimlico Special

Pimlico Special

The Pimlico Special is an American thoroughbred horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. It is raced on dirt over a distance of 1³/16 miles . The race is currently open to horses age three and older and offers a purse of $250,000.The Pimlico Special was first run in...

 in Baltimore. He competed in the 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...

 three times and the Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 once with his best result a seventh in both races in 1949 aboard Model Cadet.

When his riding days were over, Scurlock worked as an assistant trainer for Warren A. Croll, Jr.

Warren A. Croll, Jr.

Warren A. "Jimmy" Croll, Jr. was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred race horse trainer.Croll was born in 1920 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. After finishing high school, he attended the University of Pennsylvania with the intention of becoming a veterinarian but left to pursue his passion for...