(EDITOR’S NOTE: Information contained in this article is being reproduced with permission from Raymond H. Davis, who compiled and published his book Remembering Arthur Pickens.)
In 1908, the 34th Kentucky Derby was won by a horse named Stone Street, which was guided to victory by his jockey, Arthur Pickens. The race was run on a Tuesday, according to the May 7, 1908 “The Thoroughbred Record.”*
Arthur Pickens isn’t one of history’s most well-known jockeys, but he is in the Jockey Hall of Fame and at one time, he was a resident of Maysville. In fact, he is buried alongside his wife, Lillian Webster Pickens, in the Maysville Cemetery.
“The Maysville connection was through Arthur’s marriage,” said Ray Davis.
Today’s story is really two stories in one. It is also a story about Raymond Davis, Arthur’s second cousin, who decided to write a biography about Arthur’s win at the Kentucky Derby in 1908 and his successful career as a jockey. The book was completed in April, 2008.
“I’m sorry I waited 20 years too late to write something,” Ray said from his home in Rockville, Md., making reference to the fact that relatives who grew up with, and knew Arthur and Lillian have passed away.
Ray is 86 years old and began researching Arthur’s career as a jockey two and a half years ago. He made three trips to Kentucky to conduct research, spending time with Lynn David at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center in Maysville on each occasion.
He also conducted research at Keeneland’s library and the Kentucky Derby Museum to learn more about Arthur’s career in the horse racing world.
During his visits in Maysville, he learned where Arthur and Lillian lived at the time of Arthur’s death at the age of 55 on Jan. 16, 1944: 222 Lee Street. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Knox Funeral Home, according to his death certificate.
“There was raw talent there since he was a child,” Ray said of his cousin’s abilities.
Ray’s grandparents raised Arthur until he left in his teen years to become a jockey at a racing stable in New York. Ray remembers his grandfather storing newspaper clippings about Arthur’s racing wins in a family Bible, which was dated 1872. Unfortunately, the Bible was stored in an attire for years following his grandfather’s death and paper mites destroyed all of the contents, Ray said.
It was on one of his visits here that Ray met with another relative of Arthur’s; Sissy Parker Sills. Sissy’s father, Pickens “Pick” Parker was Arthur’s nephew and during his visit, Ray was treated not only to meeting Sissy but also to a viewing of family heirlooms from Arthur’s racing career: a stopwatch, a gold stirrup and a pocketknife.
According to Ray, Stone Street, the horse Arthur rode to victory in the 1908 Derby was a horse that loved a muddy track. Ray said he was unable to find any history on Stone Street after his illustrious victory at Churchill Downs, which was his first, last and only stakes win, but he remembers stories about Stone Street’s Derby win and the fact that it had rained the night before, which seemed to confirm Arthur’s assessment that Stone Street loved to run in mud. Stone Street’s winning time was 2:15 1/3, the slowest Derby ever run at one-and-a-quarter miles.
Citing documents from page 23 of Ray’s book, the actual winning odds were 23.72 to 1 in the 1908 Derby, which was the year the minimum $5 pari-mutuel bet was introduced at the Derby. A $5 winning ticket on Stone Street paid $123.60 to win, $37.90 to place and $14.50 to show.
Stone Street’s victory brought his owners $4,850.
As far as Arthur’s life in Maysville, Ray said he knows Arthur was well-known in town, was a member of the Moose Lodge and possibly even the Eagles Lodge.
“He was kinda like a man about town,” Ray said.
As for Arthur’s racing career, Ray noted in 1907, Arthur won 79 races, “which meant he was good enough to get mounts.” and in 1916 Arthur won the Canadian Kings Plate Stakes, riding for the Joseph Seagram (Seagram Distillery) stables. Ray explained the Canadian race is the equivalent of the Kentucky Derby.
“As a jockey he has been overlooked. ” Ray said of his cousin’s accomplishments in the horse racing world.
“He’s magic in my eyes and my mind, he still is,” said Ray. “It’s a forgotten name.”
ARTHUR PICKENS — HALL OF FAME JOCKEY AND KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER
— At age 19, Arthur Pickens was the youngest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby in the 20th Century until 1978 when Steve Cauthen won riding Affirmed at age 18. His riding career began in 1906 when he exercised horses for Jake Marlein.
— 1917 won the sixth running of the Long Beach Handicap at Jamaica, N.Y. on May 26, aboard The Finn, equaling the track record for 1 1/8 miles in 1:52 minutes
— 1919 won the Tuckahoe Handicap at Empire City, Yonkers, N.Y. on July 15 aboard Bally.
— 1919 won the 10th running of the Yonkers Handicap on July 26, aboard Bally.
— 1920 won the first running of the Grand National Handicap at Oriental Park, Havana, Cuba on March 14 aboard Blue Wrack. Being a prestigious international race, the value to the winning owner was $10,750, the richest event ever raced for in Cuba at that time.
— 1922 won the ninth running of the D&C Handicap at Windsor, Ontario, Canada on Aug. 22 aboard Carmondale. Set a new Canadian track record at Windsor for 3/4 mile at 1:10 4/5 minutes.
— Arthur Pickens won 1,055 races during his riding career, which qualified him to enter the Jockey Hall of Fame.** His percentage of wins to the number of mounts in 1901, 1915 and 1916 was 18.9 percent, well above the average of national ranked jockeys.
— Arthur Pickens’ riding career spanned 22 years, before retiring to Maysville. According to his obituary published in the Public Ledger on Jan. 17, 1944, Arthur Pickens died of a heart attack, the second in two days. Born in Norwood, Ohio, on July 8, 1888, the obituary cites 1909 as Arthur’s best riding year when he rode 123 winners out of 601 mounts; 1916 was another good year, with 110 winners out of 570 mounts.
* From “Remembering Arthur Pickens,” page 24, by Ray Davis
** To qualify for the Jockey Hall of Fame at Pimlico Racetrack, Baltimore, Md., a jockey must have won at least 1,000 races during his career. The facility housing the Hall of Fame burned to the ground in 1966 and was never rebuilt. Today there a few pictures and memorabilia located in a room adjacent to the main dining room at Pimlico.
Contact Marla Toncray at marla.toncray@lee.net or 606-564-9091 Ext. 275.
