George Dodd (jockey)

George Dodd (? – 1881) was an Australian jockey. He was among the best known jockeys in Australia in his day.

In the Melbourne Cup in 1881 he rode Suwarrow. At the half-mile mark a dog ran onto the track and got tangled in the legs of the colt Wheatear, bringing it down. Suwarrow fell too and Dodd was badly hurt and later died.

A story built up around his death. Dodd had lost one of his beloved dalmatian dogs the week before and was said to have thought it a bad omen. The story of the race became that it was he riding Wheatear and the dog that tripped the horse was his own; and that he died there on the turf with his dog beside him. Despite the ironic touch to the story, it wasn't true.

References

* Bill Wannan, "Australian Folklore", Lansdowne Press, 1970, reprint 1979 ISBN 0-7018-1309-1