Who was Tod Sloan?

Not to be confused with the Canadian ice hockey player of the same name, James Forman ‘Tod’ Sloan was an American jockey whose celebrity was such that he inspired the title character in the Broadway musical ‘Little Johnny Jones’ by George M. Cohan. The real-life ‘Yankee Doodle’ did, indeed, come to London, or at least to Britain, where he popularised theso-called ‘American seat’ or ‘monkey crouch’ style of riding, which would eventually be adopted worldwide. It was a different time, with no best usa online casino fast payout sites, or Internet at all of course. A glimpse into the past!

In a bright, but brief, riding career in Britain, Sloan won the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sibola, owned by Lord William Beresford and trained by Texan John Huggins, in 1899 and the Gold Cup at Ascot on Merman, owned by celebrated society beauty Lily Langtry and trained by Jack Robinson, in 1900. He might also have won the Derby, had his mount Holocauste not broken down with a shattered pastern a quarter of a mile from home, when in the lead. However, contemporary reports suggests that the eventual winner, Flying Fox, who went on to win the Triple Crown, had already taken his measure.

In 1901, under suspicion for betting on races in which he had ridden, Sloan was informed by the Jockey Club that his licence would not be renewed. A reciprocal arrangement with the American Jockey Club meant that the official suspension also applied in his native land, so his riding career was effectively over. Nevertheless, Sloan was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955. In todays online world where we can be sat in the UK while playing new online casinos australia, it’s fascinating to learn that even in days gone by some industrious types were rerally well travelled (in the physical rather than virtual sense!).