Tommy Smith (jockey)

Crompton Smith better known as Tommy Smith (16 October 1937 in Middleburg, Virginia – 5 March 2013 in Upperco, Maryland) was an American jockey.[1][2] He is best remembered as the first American jockey to win the prestigious Grand National steeplechase race while riding a horse born and trained in the United States.[1] He accomplished the feat in 1965 with Jay Trump. A few months later, the same horse-jockey combination finished third in another important race: the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. Other notable wins by the pair includes three victories in the Maryland Hunt Cup (1963, 1964 and 1966).[2] In 1965, Smith appeared on the April 26th episode of the CBS game show To Tell the Truth.[3] Despite considerable success, Smith quit jockeying in 1966 and began a career in the health-care industry.[1] After his retirement in 1995, Smith moved to Maryland and started training thoroughbreds.[2] Unfortunately, a riding accident in 2001 left him a quadriplegic.[1] He died in 2013.[1]