Roscoe Troxler was an American 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 the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

  who began riding in his early teens and by age fifteen was making an impression competing at the Crescent City Jockey Club's Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC....

 in New Orleans. He was born in Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 in 1883 and was orphaned by the age of 10. He rode for and was apprenticed by T.P. Hayes, the owner of Donerail

Donerail

Donerail was an American thoroughbred racehorse, who was the upset winner of the 1913 Kentucky Derby. His driving win stands to this day as the biggest long shot in the history of the Derby. Going off at 91-1, Donerail provided a $184.90 payoff for a $2 bet. He was drawing away at the finish...

.
He went on to ride for another two decades during which time he had two mounts 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...

, winning in 1906 aboard Sir Huon

Sir Huon

Sir Huon was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was the winner of the 1906 Kentucky Derby and Latonia Derby. Sir Huon was named after a character in the German opera Oberon and was bred at George J. Long's stud farm, Bashford Manor Stable...

  and finishing second on Governor Gray in 1911. Troxler won his second American Classic in 1913, capturing 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...

 with H. P. Whitney's

Harry Payne Whitney

Harry Payne Whitney was an American businessman, thoroughbred horsebreeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.- Early years :...

  Prince Eugene in which he set a new track record of 2:18 flat for one and three-eighths miles.

Recognized for his ability to handle inexperienced two-year-olds, Roscoe Troxler rode at tracks across the United States as well as the 1916-17 winter meet at Agua Caliente Racetrack

Agua Caliente Racetrack

The Agua Caliente Racetrack is a greyhound racing and former horse racing track in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million.One year before, the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel opened in June 1928....

 in Tijuana

Tijuana

Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 where he had victories with nineteen of his fifty-seven mounts for a 33% winning percentage.

As a trainer

Roscoe Troxler retired from riding in 1920 after seriously injuring himself in a fall at Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...

. He then worked as a trainer until retiring in 1953. As a trainer, he enjoyed his best success with El Mono in 1948 at Florida's

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 Hialeah Park Race Track

Hialeah Park Race Track

The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic site in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S...

 . A four-year-old colt owned by Daniel Lamont of Altoona, Pennsylvania

Altoona, Pennsylvania

-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...

, El Mono won the McLennan Handicap

McLennan Handicap

The McLennan Handicap was an American thoroughbred horse race run annually each February from 1934-1961 at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. First run in 1934 as the Joseph McLennan Memorial Handicap, the race was named In honor of the late Joseph "Sandy" McLennan, the former racing...

  and then the Widener Handicap

Widener Handicap

The Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida was a Grade III stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses 3-years-old and up. It was run over a distance of 1¼ miles until 1993 when it was modified to 1 1/8 miles. Initially called the Widener Challenge Cup Handicap, the race was...

 in track record time beating U.S. Triple Crown

United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...

 Champion and future 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 Assault

Assault (horse)

Assault was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1946.-Early life:...

 plus another Hall of Fame inductee, Armed

Armed

Armed was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse. He was sired by the great stakes winner Bull Lea, which made him a half-brother to Citation...

.

Thoroughbred racing was a way of life for Roscoe Troxler and in his nineties he was still working six days a week as a steward's aide at racetracks in the South Florida metropolitan area

South Florida metropolitan area

The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...

. He retired in May 1976, a few weeks before his ninety-third birthday and passed away at his home in Miami on July 7.