The late jockey William “Bill” Shoemaker, one of the most accomplished riders in Santa Anita Park history, has been selected for induction into the 2026 Los Angeles Times Sports Report Hall of Fame, officials announced Wednesday.
Shoemaker received 79.2% of the vote from readers of the The Times in the “Other Sports” category.
Shoemaker won the Santa Anita Handicap a record 11 times and captured the Santa Anita Derby eight times. He also led all riders at Santa Anita for 17 consecutive seasons.
During his Hall of Fame career, Shoemaker rode some of the sport’s most celebrated horses, including Swaps, Ack Ack, John Henry, Spectacular Bid and Ferdinand. He won the Kentucky Derby four times, the Preakness Stakes twice and the Belmont Stakes five times.
“To the public, especially those who grew up in Los Angeles, the name Bill Shoemaker was synonymous with the word `jockey,'” Santa Anita Park General Manager Nate Newby said in a statement. “It’s very special to see `The Shoe’ honored and remembered so fondly by sports fans nearly four decades since he retired.”
Shoemaker’s final race, dubbed “The Legend’s Last Ride,” was held at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 3, 1990, before a crowd of 64,573. Although he finished fourth, Shoemaker retired after more than four decades in the saddle with a record 8,833 career victories and more than $123.3 million in earnings.
Shoemaker died Oct. 12, 2003, at age 72.