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Tommy Loates (1867-1910) - born in Derby and won the Derby - three times Champion Jockey of England

Tommy Loates on his celebrated mount Donovan, who he rode to victory in the 1889 Derby

THOMAS LOATES was born in Derby in 1867. Known familiarly as Tommy Loates, he lived at the Odd Fellows Arms in King Street - his mother was the licensee - until his early teens. He was then apprenticed to a Newmarket trainer and became one of the greatest jockeys of the Victorian age. Three of his brothers also took to the saddle, the most famous of them his older brother Sammy Loates, who was born in Derby in 1864.

Tommy Loates rode his first winner when aged only 15, in 1883. Six years later he was Briitish Flat Racing 'Champion Jockey' with 167 winners in the season. In that same year he won the Derby on the celebrated racehorse 'Donovan', who later had an LNER steam locomotive named in his honour. Loates had weighed in at just six and a half stones - he was small even for a jockey, described as 'a good lightweight with very good hands'.

Loates followed up his success by becoming Champion Jockey again in 1890 (147 winners). He then 'retired' for a couple of seasons, this being generally attributed to his well-publicised alcoholism, for in common with a number of high-profile jockeys in racing history he preferred to drink rather than eat in an effort to hold his weight, alcohol serving as a diuretic.

However, he made a remarkable return to the saddle. He became Champion Jockey for the third time in 1893 when he rode an astonishing 222 winners, becoming only the second man in racing history to net a doube-century. Compare this to other Champion Jockeys - Lester Piggott (179 winners in 1981) and Frankie Dettori (192 winners in 2004) - and the achievement is put into context.

In 1896 Tommy Loates had three nasty riding accidents, in one of which he broke his thigh. But again he recovered from the setback and continued to ride until 1900, when he relinquished his licence after suffering from 'eye trouble'.

He died in 1910 aged only 43. His drink problem has been cited as a contributory factor, discussed in a piece entitled 'The Tragedy of Thomas Loates' by Frances Collingwood published in 'The British Racehorse' in October 1967.

Unlike many professional sportsmen, however, he had at least been careful with his money, leaving in his will the then considerable fortune of £75,000. This was in no small measure thanks to the man who had been his chief employer for a number of years - Leopold de Rothschild - who selected and looked after the jockey's investments.

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County:  Derbyshire

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