The neo-Brunswickois Ron Turcotte, who is best known for winning the triple American crown as a secretarial jockey, died Friday at the age of 84.
Considered one of the best in the history of his profession, the native of Drummond has won more than 3000 career races. He had his best season in 1973, when he removed the honors from Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, completing the very coveted Triple Crown.
He was then the first jockey to succeed in such a feat in 25 years. His two consecutive victories in Kentucky Derby, in 1972 and 1973, also constituted a first since 1902. He each won the Triple Crown tests.
In 1978, Ron Turcotte’s career stopped suddenly when he fell from Belmont Park. He became paraplegic due to injuries suffered during this incident.
Ron Turcotte was then involved with the fundamental handjobs for permanently disabled.
In Canada, a secretarial statue and was unveiled in 2015 in the city of Grand Falls, where he lived the rest of his life. He is the first jockey to have been a member of the Order of Canada (1971) and was inducted into the Temple of Fame of Canadian Sport (1980).
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