Raymond "Sonny" Workman (May 24, 1909 – August 21, 1966) was an American National Champion and Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. During his fifteen years as a professional rider from 1926 through 1940, he won an exceptional twenty percent of his starts.[1]
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Raymond Workman's mother was a native of Washington, D.C., and after her husband's death she and the children returned to live there. Workman studied to be a member of the clergy before deciding to embark upon a career as a jockey.[2] He began riding at age seventeen at racetracks in Ohio where he quickly demonstrated a natural riding ability combined with a strong desire to excel. Widely known by the nickname "Sonny," his competitiveness was such that the Chicago Tribune called him a "riding demon" and the New York Times called him a "bulldog in silks." His abilities quickly reached a level that in just his second year of racing he signed a contract to go to New York City to ride for one of the country's preeminent owners, Harry Payne Whitney. He was also the regular rider for Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's stables and in 1932 and 1933 he and Whitney's handicap runner, Equipoise, were the idols of New York racing.[3]
In 1930, Sonny Workman was both the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and Champion by total wins while achieving it with a 27% rate of wins to mounts. In 1932 he was the earnings leader a second time.
On January 21, 1930, he was married to Marion Elizabeth Burch of Washington, D.C.[4]
^Raymond Workman at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
^"Los Angeles Times - December 17, 1935". Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
^"Chicago Daily Tribune - June 26, 1932". Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
Raymond "Sonny" Workman (May 24, 1909 – August 21, 1966) was an American National Champion and Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. During...
Healey Walter J. Salmon Sr. 1+3⁄16 2:01.60 $90,000 1928 Victorian RaymondWorkman James G. Rowe Jr. Harry P. Whitney 1+3⁄16 2:00.20 $90,000 1927 Bostonian...
J. Connors Brookmeade Stable 1+1⁄4 miles 2:10.80 1932 Equipoise 4 RaymondWorkman Thomas J. Healey C. V. Whitney 1+1⁄4 miles 2:05.60 1931 St. Brideaux...
Edward Bennett Williams, August 13, 1988 Frank J. Wilson, June 22, 1970 RaymondWorkman, August 21, 1966 Lawrence A. Wright, March 19, 2000 Charles Yost, May...
Whitney 1:12.60 1936 Forty Winks RaymondWorkman John M. Gaver Sr. Greentree Stable 1:13.80 1935 Red Rain RaymondWorkman Thomas J. Healey C. V. Whitney...
1925) 2 - Johnny Loftus (1917, 1919) 2 - Linus McAtee (1924, 1926) 2 - RaymondWorkman (1930, 1932) Most wins by a trainer: 4 - Thomas J. Healey (1915, 1918...
Robertson Robert McGarvey Ethel V. Mars 1+1⁄8 1:53.40 1936 Two Bob RaymondWorkman James W. Healy Cornelius V. Whitney 1+1⁄8 1:52.60 1935 Paradisical...
Raymond Leo Burke (born June 30, 1948) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He is a bishop and a cardinal, and was a patron of the Sovereign...
$104,000 1931 Top Flight RaymondWorkman Thomas J. Healey C. V. Whitney 1+1⁄16 mi. 1:44.80 $93,000 1930 Equipoise RaymondWorkman Thomas J. Healey C. V....
1:38 1/5 for the mile. Under instructions from trainer Healey, jockey RaymondWorkman continued running for another quarter mile in preparation for the mile...
Can't Wait Lester Balaski J. Thomas Taylor Myron Selznick 4th 10 Menow RaymondWorkman Duval A. Headley Hal Price Headley 5th 9 The Chief Jack Westrope Earl...
Robert A. Smith Brookmeade Stable 6 F 1:11.60 $12,125 1932 Caterwaul 2 RaymondWorkman William A. Crawford Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 6 F 1:14.40 $30,000...
Sceneshifter James Stout Earl Sande Maxwell Howard 8–1 $5,000 3 1 Vamoose RaymondWorkman J. P. "Sammy" Smith Falaise Stable 60–1 $2,500 4 4 Brooklyn Wayne D...
September 11, 1930, when future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee RaymondWorkman guided James Butler's three-year-old colt Questionnaire to a two-length...
time of 2:00 1/5. Ridden by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee RaymondWorkman, Victorian won the race by a nose over runner-up Toro. Nassak, the...
Age Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time Win$ 1932 Disdainful 2 RaymondWorkman Fred Hopkins Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 5 F 0:59.60 $4,500 1931 Top...
W. Coyne Joseph E. Widener 6 f 1:10.00 $4,500 1940 T. M. Dorsett 4 RaymondWorkman John B. Theall Joe W. Brown 6 f 1:11.40 $4,500 1939 Rough Time 5 Fred...
McAtee A. Jack Joyner George D. Widener Jr. 1:38.80 1928 Victorian RaymondWorkman James G. Rowe Jr. Harry Payne Whitney 1:40.00 1927 Sweepster Laverne...
Haas Max Hirsch Anna C. Corning 5 F 0:58.40 $15,590 1939 Skin Deep 2 RaymondWorkman Joseph H. Stotler Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. 5 F 0:57.40 $10,380...
1+1⁄8 m 1:50.00 $45,000 1933 – 1979 Race not held 1932 Top Flight 3 RaymondWorkman Thomas J. Healey Sonny Whitney 1+1⁄8 m 1:50.80 $13,475 1931 Canfli...
Fox Earl Sande Jim Fitzsimmons Belair Stud 8–5 $66,040 2 3 Whichone RaymondWorkman Thomas J. Healey Harry Payne Whitney 7–10 $7,500 3 4 Questionnaire...
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