A HARD RIDE ALL THE WAY

Bill Hartack

March 27, 1967

Crowded though it is with colorful personalities, sport rarely produces as provocative a figure as Bill Hartack. Bold, outspoken, often arrogant and rude, he has alienated large segments of the press, most of his fellow jockeys and nearly every prominent owner and trainer in horse racing with what he describes as his "honesty." Yet he is the gentlest of men with children, happiest when playing games with them, openhanded in support of boys' sports organizations. Today, after a career that includes four Kentucky Derby victories, four national riding championships and more than $20 million in purse earnings, he has difficulty getting an ordinary mount on a routine racing card. Hartack has always been sparing with words for publication. On the following pages, however, in the first of three articles, he tells a remarkable story. Perceptive, challenging, highly self-revealing, it is the story of Bill Hartack .