Warren Mehrtens

Horseracing personalities infobox
name = Warren Mehrtens


caption =
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
birth date = November 5, 1920
death date = December 30, 1997
career wins = 614
race = Gallant Fox Handicap (1942)
Washington Park Handicap (1943)
Narragansett Special (1944, 1949)
New York Handicap (1945, 1949)
Wood Memorial Stakes (1946)
Dwyer Stakes (1946)
Acorn Stakes (1947, 1951)
Arlington Matron Stakes (1947)
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (1947, 1948)
Modesty Handicap (1947)
Westchester Handicap (1947)
Arlington Classic (1947)
Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (1948)
Sanford Stakes (1948)
Suburban Handicap (1948)
Manhattan Handicap (1949)
Acorn Stakes (1951)
Spinaway Stakes (1951)

American Classic Race wins:
Kentucky Derby (1946)
Preakness Stakes (1946)
Belmont Stakes (1946)
awards =
honours =
horses = Assault, But Why Not, Bridal Flower
updated = CURRENTTIME, CURRENTDAYNAME CURRENTMONTHNAME CURRENTDAY CURRENTYEAR (UTC)

Warren Mehrtens (November 5, 1920 - December 30, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey best known for winning the U.S. Triple Crown in 1946.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Warren Mehrtens graduated from Jamaica High School in 1938. Growing up near Aqueduct Racetrack he was a fan of Thoroughbred racing and after finishing school pursued a career as a professional jockey. Under the guidance of future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Max Hirsch, he won his first race in 1940 and soon began winning important races at Chicago and New York area racetracks.

In 1946, twenty-six-year-old Warren Mehrtens rode Assault to victory in the Wood Memorial Stakes, then swept all three of the American Classic Races to become only the seventh jockey in history to win the U.S. Triple Crown Champion.

Mehrtens retired from racing in 1952 and went to work as a race steward at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky and later at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware before joining the New York Racing Association in 1973.

Warren Mehrtens died in Sarasota, Florida in 1997 at age seventy-seven.

References

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E6D91131F932A35752C0A96E958260 Januar 1, 1998 obituary for Warren Mehrtens at the "New York Times"]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,776788,00.html May. 13, 1946 "TIME" magazine article on Warren Mehrtens' win in the Kentucky Derby]
* [http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=p3FGoOhlLlE Video at You Tube of Warren Mehrtens riding Assault to victory in the 1946 Kentucky Derby]