THE JOCKEY -- Stewart Elliott

Canadian-born jockey Stewart Elliott grew up in horse racing. His father, Dennis, was a jockey for 22 years, including a 6 year stint in Hong Kong, before buying a farm in Florida and switching to training. His mother rode show horses and was a riding instructor, and his uncle owns a racing stable in Canada.

Elliott began riding professionally in 1981 at Keystone Park, now known as Philadelphia Park. A steady, hard worker, he has been the racetrack's winningest jockey for a number of years and for the past three seasons has been named Pennsylvania's top rider. On May 13, 2003 he reached a prestigious milestone, riding his 3,000th career winner.

On May 1, 2004, Stewart Elliott became the first jockey in twenty-five years to win the Kentucky Derby in his first appearance in the race. His horse, Smarty Jones, became the first unbeaten Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977. To add to his victory was Elliott's 10% share of the almost $6 million in purse and bonuses that represented the largest payday for any jockey and horse in racing history. Two weeks later, Elliott rode Smarty Jones to a record-breaking win in the second leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the Preakness Stakes.