Editing Willie Simms

{{Short description|American jockey}}
{{similar names|Willie Sims (disambiguation){{!}}Willie Sims}}
{{Infobox horseracing personality
|name  = Willie Simms
|image  = File:Willie Sims in 1900.jpg
|caption  = Willie Simms (c.1900)
|occupation  = [[Jockey]]
|birth_place = [[Augusta, Georgia]], [[United States|USA]]
| birth_date  =  {{birth date|1870|01|16}}
| death_date  = {{dda|1927|02|26|1870|01|16}}
| death_place  = [[Asbury Park, New Jersey|Asbury Park]], [[New Jersey]], USA
| resting_place = 
|career wins  = 1,125
|race  = [[Belles Stakes]] (1891, 1892)<br>[[Spinaway Stakes]] (1891)<br>[[Champion Stakes (United States)|Champion Stakes]] (1892)<br>[[First Special Stakes]]<br>(1892, 1894, 1897)<br>[[Second Special Stakes]]<br>(1892, 1894, 1895, 1897)<br>[[Flatbush Stakes]] (1892)<br>[[Sapphire Stakes (United States)|Sapphire Stakes]] (1892)<br>[[Tidal Stakes]] (1892, 1894, 1897)<br>[[Lawrence Realization Stakes]] (1893, 1894)<br>[[Pansy Stakes]] (1893)<br>[[Surf Stakes]] (1893)<br>[[Zephyr Stakes]] (1893)<br>[[Fashion Stakes]] (1894)<br>[[Juvenile Stakes (United States)|Juvenile Stakes]] (1894, 1898)<br>[[Mermaid Stakes]] (1894)<br>[[Reapers Stakes]] (1894)<br>[[September Stakes (United States)|September Stakes]] (1894, 1895)<br>[[Jerome Handicap]] (1895)<br>[[Omnium Handicap]] (1895, 1897)<br>[[Carlton Stakes]] (1896, 1897)<br>[[Withers Stakes]] (1896, 1897)<br>[[Brighton Handicap]] (1897, 1898)<br>[[Tremont Stakes]] (1897)<br>[[Broadway Stakes]] (1898)<br>[[Golden Rod Stakes (Sheepshead Bay)|Golden Rod Stakes]] (1898)<br>[[Toboggan Handicap]] (1898)<br>[[Annual Champion Stakes]] (1901)<p>
'''[[American Classic Races|American Classic Race]] wins:'''<br>[[Kentucky Derby]] (1896, 1898)<br>[[Preakness Stakes]] (1898)<br>[[Belmont Stakes]] (1893, 1894)</p>
|awards  = [[United States Champion Jockey by wins]]<br>(1893, 1894)
|honours  = [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|United States Racing Hall of Fame]] (1977)
|horses  = [[Ben Brush]], [[Clifford (horse)|Clifford]], [[Handspring (horse)|Handspring]], [[Sly Fox (horse)|Sly Fox]], [[Lady Violet (horse)|Lady Violet]], [[Henry of Navarre (horse)|Henry of Navarre]], [[Commanche (horse)|Commanche]], [[Plaudit]], [[Lamplighter (horse)|Lamplighter]]
|updated = June 26, 2018
}}

'''Willie Simms''' (January 16, 1870 – February 26, 1927) was an American [[United States Champion Jockey by wins|National Champion]] [[jockey]] in [[Thoroughbred racing]] and a [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|U.S. Racing Hall of Fame]] inductee who won five of the races that would become the [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)|U.S. Triple Crown]] series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/willie-simms |title=Willie Simms |publisher=racingmuseum.org |date=1977-01-01 |access-date=2019-04-08}}</ref>

An African American, Simms began racing in 1887 and was one of the most successful jockeys using the short-stirrup style (which gave the rider a crouching posture). En route to winning the [[United States Champion Jockey by wins|United States riding title]] in 1893 and 1894, Simms won back-to-back [[Belmont Stakes]]. On August 17, 1894,  Willie Simms won the first five races at [[Jerome Park Racetrack]] and finished second in the sixth and last race of the day. All five of Simms' winners were trained by [[Hardy Campbell Jr.]]
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/08/18/archives/sims-rode-five-winners-m-f-dwyer-lost-a-great-opportunity-by-not.html |title=Sims Rode Five Winners |publisher=[[New York Times]], page 3 |date=1894-08-18 |access-date=2019-10-05}}</ref>

In 1895, the ''[[Boston Post]]'' reported Willie Simms was among the elite jockeys and was earning more than $10,500 a year. (US$315,548 in 2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-feb-18-1895-p-3/ |title=Corbett Most |publisher=Boston Post |date=1895-02-18 |access-date=2018-11-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in2013dollars.com/1895-dollars-in-2018?amount=10000 |title=CPI Inflation Calculator |publisher=Alioth LLC |date=2018-11-10 |access-date=2018-11-10}}</ref> That year he raced in [[England]], where he became the first American jockey to win with an American horse in that country.

Back in the United States, Simms won the 1896 [[Kentucky Derby]] in its first running at 1¼ miles on [[Ben Brush (horse)|Ben Brush]]. He repeated as the Derby winner in 1898, aboard [[Plaudit]]. Before the advent of the term "Triple Crown" and the importance of the [[United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|U.S. Triple Crown]] series, Simms went on to take the [[Preakness Stakes]] a few weeks later on a different horse, [[Sly Fox (horse)|Sly Fox]]. He is the only [[African American]] jockey to win all three Triple Crown races.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/5480 |title=Transatlantica American Studies Journal Section #22, The American Jockey, 1865-1910 |publisher=Steven A. Riess|date=2012-06-16 |access-date=2019-04-08}}</ref>

During his 14-year career, Willie Simms rode some of the great [[Thoroughbred]] racehorses of the day such as two-time [[American Horse of the Year]], [[Henry of Navarre (horse)|Henry of Navarre]].

Willie Simms finished his riding career with 1,125 wins and in 1977 was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

His name was frequently misspelled as "Sims" by media of his era.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Willie}}
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:American Champion jockeys]]
[[Category:African-American jockeys]]
[[Category:American jockeys]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Augusta, Georgia]]
[[Category:United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]