'James Stout' (
May 6,
1910 -
August,
1986) was an
American thoroughbred horse racing jockey.
Known as "Jimmy," he began working at a racetrack as a stable boy then in 1930 became a professional jockey. Stout became most famous riding for
Belair Stud and
trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons. He rode
Seabiscuit in his first race in January of 1935 before the
colt was sold. In 1936 Stout rode in his first
Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately his highly touted colt
Granville was a victim of one of the roughest starts in Derby history and he was thrown from the horse. However, Jimmy Stout and Granville came back to finish second to the Derby winner
Bold Venture in the
Preakness Stakes then won the
Belmont Stakes and went on to earn the
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. Jimmy Stout won the Belmont two more times, aboard
Pasteurized in 1938 and the following year he rode future Hall of Famer
Johnstown to victory in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont. Among his other major racing successes, he won the
Jockey Club Gold Cup on two occasions.
Jimmy Stout became part of racing history when he rode Bousset to a share of the victory in racing's only triple dead heat in the 1944 Carter Handicap. In 1946 he returned to his native New Jersey to ride at
Monmouth Park Racetrack in
Oceanport where he was the leading rider for four years. After a twenty-five year career as a jockey, in which he won 2,056 races, Stout retired from riding in 1954 following which he worked as a race official.
In 1968 Jimmy Stout was inducted into the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
References
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James Stout at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame