# Gene Hildebrand

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American jockey

Gene Hildebrand Personal information Born (1887-08-16)August 16, 1887 Gilroy, California, United States Died November 26, 1921(1921-11-26) (aged 34) Oakland, California Occupation Jockey Horse racing career Sport Horse racing Major racing wins Advance Stakes (1904) Bay Ridge Handicap (1904) Belmont Futurity Stakes (1904) Bouquet Stakes (1904) Brighton Oaks (1904) Bronx Highweight Handicap (1904) Burns Handicap (1904) Edgemere Handicap (1904) Foam Stakes (1904) Great Filly Stakes (1904) Great Trial Stakes (1904) Hanover Stakes (1904) Hopeful Stakes (1904) Huron Handicap (1904) Islip Handicap (1904) Ladies Handicap (1904) Matron Stakes (1904) Neptune Stakes (1904) Speculation Stakes (1904) Tidal Stakes (1904) Troy Stakes (1904) Zephyr Stakes (1904) Arlington Hotel Stakes (1905) Autumn Stakes (1905) Brighton Handicap (1905) Capitol Hotel Stakes (1905) Columbus Stakes (1905) Fall Handicap (1905) Flash Stakes (1905) Golden Rod Stakes (1905) Great Eastern Handicap (1905) Occidental Handicap (1905) Peconic Handicap (1905) Sea Gull Stakes (1905) Seagate Stakes (1905) September Stakes (1905) Omnium Handicap (1905) Century Handicap (1906) American Classics wins: Preakness Stakes (1904) Belmont Stakes (1905) Racing awards United States Champion Jockey by wins (1904) Significant horses Artful, Beldame, Burgomaster, Hamburg Belle, Ort Wells, Tanya, Von Tromp, Whimsical

**Eugene Hildebrand** (August 16, 1887 - November 26, 1921) was an American [National Champion](/source/United_States_Champion_Jockey_by_wins) [jockey](/source/Jockey) in [Thoroughbred racing](/source/Thoroughbred_racing) who won the 1904 [Preakness Stakes](/source/Preakness_Stakes) and the 1905 [Belmont Stakes](/source/Belmont_Stakes), races that would become part of the [U.S. Triple Crown](/source/Triple_Crown_of_Thoroughbred_Racing_(United_States)) series.

## Biography

Born in [Gilroy, California](/source/Gilroy%2C_California) on August 16, 1887,[1] Gene Hildebrand began his career in Thoroughbred racing in 1901 working as a stable hand then as a jockey at [Emeryville Race Track](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emeryville_Race_Track&action=edit&redlink=1) near [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland%2C_California). In 1904 he won the [Burns Handicap](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burns_Handicap&action=edit&redlink=1) which at the time was the most important race in California. Prominent owners on the [East Coast](/source/East_Coast_of_the_United_States) took notice and Hildebrand competed at the big [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) tracks where at [Gravesend Race Track](/source/Gravesend_Race_Track) he won the [1904 Preakness Stakes](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1904_Preakness_Stakes&action=edit&redlink=1) on May 28 aboard the [colt](/source/Colt_(horse)) [Bryn Mawr](/source/Bryn_Mawr_(horse)).[2] He went on to win numerous top [stakes races](/source/Glossary_of_North_American_horse_racing#stakes_race) including the most prestigious event of that era, the [Belmont Futurity Stakes](/source/Belmont_Futurity_Stakes). Back on the [West Coast](/source/West_Coast_of_the_United_States) for the winter racing season, on December 23, 1904, Hildebrand set a new [world record](/source/World_record) for wins in a year when he rode win number 293 at [Ascot Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ascot_Park_(California_race_track)&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles). He would finish the year as the national champion in total races won with 297 and in stakes wins with 35.[3][4][5]

Returning to the East Coast in 1905, on May 24 Hildebrand rode the [filly](/source/Filly) [Tanya](/source/Tanya_(horse)) to victory in the [1905 Belmont Stakes](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1905_Belmont_Stakes&action=edit&redlink=1) in its first running at the new [Belmont Park](/source/Belmont_Park) track in [Elmont, New York](/source/Elmont%2C_New_York).[6] Suspended on September 23, 1905, for rough riding, Hildebrand was not reinstated until March 9, 1906. The following day he rode at [Oaklawn Park](/source/Oaklawn_Racing_%26_Gaming) in [Hot Springs, Arkansas](/source/Hot_Springs%2C_Arkansas). From three mounts in the first three races on the day's [card](/source/Racecard), he finished second in the opening race, won the second race, and finished fourth in the third race.[7]

Gene Hildebrand battled weight gain which hindered his racing and would force him to retire from riding in 1909. For several years he remained in the industry as an owner of a small stable of racehorses. In 1919 he fell ill with a flu that plagued him for two years until it turned to [pneumonia](/source/Pneumonia) and he died in an [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland%2C_California) hospital on November 26, 1921, at the age of 34.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Famous_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Famous_1-1) ["Gene Hildebrand, Famous Jockey, Is Dead in S. F."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41681080/gene_hildebrand_famous_jockey_is_dead/) *[Oakland Tribune](/source/Oakland_Tribune)*. November 27, 1921. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Preakness Stakes History"](https://www.twinspires.com/preakness-stakes/history). TwinSpires.com. April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Twenty Years Ago Today"](https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1924122301/drf1924122301_2_4). Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. December 23, 1924. Retrieved April 5, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Jockey's $200,000 Saddle Earnings Disappear"](https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=COE19211210.1.7). Collyer's Eye, (Chicago) Volume 7, Number 36. December 10, 1921. Retrieved March 19, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Riders of Stake Winners"](https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1906010301/drf1906010301_1_12). Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. January 3, 1906. Retrieved April 6, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Belmont Stakes Past Winners"](https://www.belmontstakes.com/history/past-winners/). NYRA. June 9, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Hildebrand in the Saddle"](https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1906031001/drf1906031001_1_2). Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. March 10, 1906. Retrieved October 5, 2018.

## External links

- [Photos: Tanya, and the 1905 Belmont Stakes at Colin's Ghost - Thoroughbred Racing History](http://colinsghost.org/2010/04/new-york-racing-1905.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gene Hildebrand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Hildebrand) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Hildebrand?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.