Ted Atkinson

Ted Atkinson
Ted Atkinson
	Suburban Handicap (1952, 1953, 1954); Adirondack Stakes (1953); Butler Handicap (1953); Delaware Handicap (1953); Miss Woodford Stakes (1953); Firenze Handicap (1954); American Legion Handicap (1955); Coaching Club American Oaks (1955); Providence Stakes (1955); Wood Memorial Stakes (1955); Bahamas Stakes (1957); Jamaica Handicap (1957); Saranac Stakes (1957); Gallant Fox Handicap (1958); National Stallion Stakes (filly division) (1958); U.S. Triple Crown race wins:; Preakness Stakes (1949); Belmont Stakes (1949)
Racing awards
	U. S. Champion Jockey by earnings; (1944, 1946); U.S. Champion Jockey by wins; (1944, 1946); George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award; (1957)
Honours
	United States Racing Hall of Fame (1957); Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (2002)
Significant horses
	Ace Admiral, Bold Ruler, Busanda, Capot, Coaltown, Conniver, Devil Diver, Gallorette, Grecian Queen, Honeymoon, Miss Request, Misty Morn, Nashua, One Hitter, Parlo,; Tom Fool, War Relic, Windfields

Theodore Frederick Atkinson (June 17, 1916 – May 5, 2005) was a

thoroughbred horse racing jockey, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

in 1957.

Born in

Ruth Atkinson Ford. Ted Atkinson as a child emigrated with his family across the border to upstate New York. ^[1] He began his career in thoroughbred horse racing in 1938 and first gained national recognition in 1941, when he rode War Relic to an upset win in the Narragansett Special over the 1941 U.S. Triple Crown winner Whirlaway. For 12 of his 21 years in the sport, Atkinson was contract rider for the wealthy New York City Whitney family's Greentree Stable. In 1944, he was North America's

leading jockey in both number of wins and money earned. He repeated the feat in 1946, when he became the first rider to achieve purse earnings of more the $1 million in a single season.

Riding Greentree's colt

Horse of the Year

honors in 1953.

In 1957, Ted Atkinson was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award and that same year became the first active jockey elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He was then invited to appear on the CBS television's The Ed Sullivan Show. In an article on jockey Eddie Arcaro, TIME magazine wrote that: "He [Arcaro] also gives a large share of credit to gentlemanly Jockey Ted Atkinson, who helped raise the standard of sportsmanship on New York tracks."^[2]^[3]

Following his retirement in 1959 as a result of a back injury, Atkinson became a racing official and served as State Steward in Illinois from 1961 until 1976.

Atkinson, who had been fighting a lengthy cancer-related illness, died at his home near Beaverdam, Virginia after several strokes, a few weeks short of his 89th birthday.

References

^ "New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23H-4P17 : 2 March 2021), Theodore Frederic Atkinson, New York, United States;citing Immigration, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1480 and M1482. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
^ Gallagher, Danny (2005-05-05). "TED ATKINSON, JOCKEY: 1916-2005". The Globe and Mail. Bell Globemedia. p. 9.
^ "Cover: Man on a Horse". May 17, 1948. Time.

[1] "New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23H-4P17 : 2 March 2021), Theodore Frederic Atkinson, New York, United States;citing Immigration, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1480 and M1482. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

[2] Gallagher, Danny (2005-05-05). "TED ATKINSON, JOCKEY: 1916-2005". The Globe and Mail. Bell Globemedia. p. 9.

[3] "Cover: Man on a Horse". May 17, 1948. Time.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Authority control databases
International	FAST VIAF
National	United States