David A. Gall

David Allen Gall (born 1941 in Rose Valley, Saskatchewan) is a retired Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who, as of June 2009, ranks fifth in lifetime wins by North American jockeys, and who was the first jockey in the United States to ride eight winners on a single racecard.

Riding career

Gall began his career riding at tracks in Regina, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba before going to the Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, British Columbia. He would follow the path of other Canadian jockeys like George Woolf and Johnny Longden and head south to tracks in California. Eventually he made his way to Illinois where, dubbed "The General" by fans and the media, he would dominate racing at Fairmount Park Racetrack and Cahokia Downs.

Achievements

During a 43-year career, David Gall was a two-time winner of the United States national riding title, winning more races than any other rider in 1979 and 1981. On October 18, 1978, he won eight races on a single racecard at Cahokia Downs^[1] and won seven races on five occasions.^[2]

Honors

In 1993, David Gall was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.^[3] In 1996 he was the recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award, given annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sport.

David Gall retired from riding on September 18, 1999, ranked fourth all-time among jockeys for races won in the history of American Thoroughbred racing with 7,396 victories from 41,709 mounts. He has remained in the industry as a trainer/owner and in 2009 is competing at Fairmount Park.

References

• National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame list of All-Time North American Jockeys Ranked by Wins