Bill Hartack, at 74; won Kentucky Derby five times

FREER, Texas - Bill Hartack, a Hall of Fame jockey and five-time Kentucky Derby winner, died while on a hunting vacation. He was 74.

Mr. Hartack died Monday night from natural causes due to heart disease, said Dr. Corinne Stern, the chief medical examiner in Webb County in Texas.

Mr. Hartack and fellow Hall of Fame rider Eddie Arcaro are the only jockeys to win the Kentucky Derby five times. Known for his burning desire to win every single race, Mr. Hartack won his first Derby with Iron Liege in 1957. He then won with Venetian Way in 1960, Decidedly in 1962, Northern Dancer in 1964, and Majestic Prince in 1969.

In winning the '57 Derby, he was the beneficiary of perhaps the greatest goof in racing history - when Bill Shoemaker misjudged the finish line aboard Gallant Man and stood in celebration as Iron Liege passed, winning by a nose.

"He was my idol," said trainer Mike Stidham, whose father, George, was Mr. Hartack's agent. "I was at the '69 Derby when he won with Majestic Prince. He was a great person to grow up around. He was a kid at heart."

Mr. Hartack, considered among the fiercest riders in the game, rode until 1974 and had 4,272 wins from 21,535 mounts, winning nearly 20 percent of his races. He won the Preakness aboard Fabius in 1956, Northern Dancer in 1964, and Majestic Prince in 1969. He won the Belmont Stakes once, with Celtic Ash in 1960.

He later rode in Hong Kong from 1978 to 1980.

After his retirement, he worked on network television as a racing analyst, then later was a racing official in California, Illinois, and Louisiana and spent some time as a jockey agent. He had recently worked as a steward at Harrah's Louisiana Downs racetrack in Bossier City, La.

"When I first came to this country and met him, it was like meeting a superstar - he was a jockey everyone had heard about," said Angel Cordero, another Hall of Fame jockey. "He was very smart. And he was amazing with the whip - he could hit a horse left-handed coming around the turn, and the horse would never go out."

Mr. Hartack won his first race in 1952 at West Virginia's Waterford Park, and he was elected to thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame in 1959, at the age of 26 - the youngest person ever elected to the hall.

Born in Ebensburg, Pa., William John Hartack Jr. was brought up by his coal-mining father on a farm. He took a job as an exercise and stable boy at the age of 17 with trainer Junie Corbin at Charles Town Race Course in West Virginia. He began riding in 1952. By the end of the following year, he was a star.

With Arcaro and Shoemaker, he ruled the racing world in the 1950s. Mr. Hartack was the top rider by earnings in 1956 and 1957 and the leader in victories four times - 1955 through 57 and 1960. He was the second jockey to ride as many as 400 winners in a single year, when he won 417 races in 1955.

The regular rider for famed Calumet Farms in the 1950s, Mr. Hartack was fired in 1958 because he argued with management and trainers over the horses' handling. He preferred to take his mounts right to the lead, while trainers wanted him to race off the lead and win with a stretch run.

Earlier this year, Mr. Hartack returned to Toronto for the first time since he won the Queen's Plate with Northern Dancer in 1964.

"I've got great memories of that horse," Mr. Hartack told the Toronto Star. "I remember every one of his races. He was always the underdog. I don't know if that's because he was from Canada or because of his small size. But I liked underdogs. He would be in my top five all time."

In the interview, Mr. Hartack also talked about his personality while he rode. A magazine article once said he got along better with horses than with people.

"It's easy to be friendly with somebody as the years go by, but I treated my profession as an individual contractor," he said. "While I was racing, I didn't have any friendship with any jockey."

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who was just coming on the thoroughbred scene as Mr. Hartack was leaving, saluted Mr. Hartack's need to win each race.

"He had a strong, competitive spirit, and he took no prisoners," Lukas said.

Material from the Los Angeles Times was used in this obituary.