Joe Mercer, English jockey and manager
Joseph Mercer, OBE (25 October 1934 – 17 May 2021) was an English thoroughbred race horse jockey. He was active as a jockey from 1947 to 1985 and rode a total of 2,810 winners in Britain. Mercer's nickname was "Smokin' Joe".
He was apprenticed to trainer Frederick Sneyd and won his first British Classic race while still an apprentice on Ambiguity in the 1953 Epsom Oaks. He was British flat racing Champion Apprentice twice, in 1952 and 1953.
He subsequently worked as stable jockey for Jack Colling, Dick Hern, Henry Cecil and Peter Walwyn. During his spell at Cecil's yard he won his only British flat racing Champion Jockey's title in 1979. The most successful horse Mercer rode during his career was Brigadier Gerard, winner of 17 of his 18 races between 1970 and 1972. He won every British Classic except the Derby, although he was runner-up twice.He retired as a jockey in November 1985. He then worked initially as a jockey's agent before accepting a job as racing manager for Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 1987. He retired from that in January 2006.
1934Oct, 25
Joe Mercer (jockey)
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Events on 1934
- 23May
Bonnie and Clyde
Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. - 2Aug
Adolf Hitler
Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg. - 26Sep
RMS Queen Mary
Steamship RMS Queen Mary is launched. - 9Oct
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Regicide at Marseille: The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France. - 6Nov
Tennessee Valley Authority
Memphis, Tennessee becomes the first major city to join the Tennessee Valley Authority.