Red Pollard

Horseracing personalities infobox
name = Red Pollard


caption = Red Pollard on Seabiscuit
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
birth date = birth date|1909|10|27|mf=y
death date = death date and age|1981|3|7|1909|10|27
deathplace = Pawtucket, Rhode Island
career wins = Not found
race = Prince of Wales Stakes (1933)
King Edward Gold Cup (1933)
Agua Caliente Handicap (1934)
Governor's Handicap (1936)
Bay Bridge Handicap (1936)
World's Fair Handicap (1936)
Bay Meadows Handicap (1937)
Yonkers Handicap (1937)
Massachusetts Handicap (1937)
San Juan Capistrano Handicap (1937)
San Carlos Handicap (1937)
Brooklyn Handicap (1937)
San Antonio Handicap (1940)
Santa Anita Handicap (1940)
awards =
honours = Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1982)
horses = Gallant Sir, Pompoon, Seabiscuit
updated = April 1, 2007

John "Red" M. Pollard (October 27, 1909 – March 7, 1981) was a Canadian-born thoroughbred horse racing jockey. A founding member of the Jockeys' Guild in 1940, Pollard rode at racetracks in the United States and is best known for riding Seabiscuit.

Family history

Red Pollard was the grandson of immigrant, Michael Pollard, who came from Ireland in 1850. He was born there around 1834. Upon arriving in the United States, Michael made his first home in New Jersey. About 1855, he moved to Mercer County, Illinois. In 1861, he served in A Co. 9th Illinois Cavalry. In 1863 he married Bridget Moloney in Rock Island, Illinois. She was also an Irish immigrant. He moved to Grundy Center, Iowa in 1870 and stayed there until his death in 1913.

His son John A. Pollard was born there in 1875. John went to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1898. After the turn of the century, he founded the Pollard Bros Brickyard with his brother Joseph. His son, John M. Pollard, was born there in 1909.

Biography

Red Pollard stood 5 feet 7 inches, which is considered tall for a jockey (Eddie Arcaro, for example, stood 5 feet 3 inches). He had also been blinded in his right eye early in his career by a stray rock kicked up by another horse during a training ride on a crowded track that hit his skull and damaged the vision center of his brain. At that time, few jockeys actually wore helmets to prevent just such accidents.

In 1933, he rode in Ontario at Woodbine and Fort Erie Racetracks. Based in California he met with his most famous successes aboard Seabiscuit on whom he won numerous important races including the 1937 Brooklyn Handicap at Old Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, the 1937 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs in Boston, and the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. He also went on to win many more races and at the time the pairing was considered by most as the best race horse and jockey in America.

In 1938, after receiving a compound fracture in his leg on a runaway horse, Red fell in love with his nurse, Agnes Conlon. They were married the following year and had two children, Norah and John.

In 1982, Red Pollard was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Pollard died on March 7, 1981 at Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Actor Tobey Maguire portrayed the adult Pollard in the 2003 film "Seabiscuit.

References

*Hillenbrand, Laura "". "The Cougar and the Iceman"." (2001) Ballantine Books
* [http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/jockeys/1982/John_Red_Pollard.asp John "Red" Pollard at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/mammalsevents/m_pollard.html Red Pollard bio on pbs.org]
* [http://advance.uri.edu/quadangles/fall2003/story4.htm Tribute article by Pollard's Daughter]