421:, where they met two women at a bar and the foursome proceeded to carouse well into the night. While driving on a dark road, one of the women, Evelyn Sliwinski, vomited in the car and Saunders made her leave the vehicle. The other three drove off, leaving Sliwinski staggering on the road. Schaeffer was driving, and the three decided to turn around to go back to Sliwinski, but did not see her. While driving down the road, they felt the car hit something but Schaeffer thought it was a rock and did not stop to see what happened. Two teenagers discovered Sliwinski’s body later that night. The next day, the other woman, Agnes Mackinson, reported what she witnessed to the police. Soon, Schaeffer was charged with murder and Saunders indicted as an accessory. Because there was also an allegation that Philip Scholtz, one of the teens who found the body, had told witnesses he thought he had struck Sliwinski, there was sufficient reasonable doubt raised and Schaeffer was acquitted. Saunders’ charges were dropped. Though found not guilty, the two men did pay $ 10,000 to settle a civil lawsuit brought by Sliwinski’s heirs.
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and exercise boy. As a teenager, Saunders returned to
Bozeman, where he lived with an uncle, Guy Saunders, attended high school, and rode races at small tracks in Montana. Saunders moved to California in 1932.
379:, contracted while overseas, resulted in considerable weight loss that allowed him to resume his career in racing once the war ended. In 1948, Saunders rode Bovard to victory in the
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Bill, Christine (May 29, 1998). "OMAHA, 1935: THIRD TRIPLE CROWN WINNER; Omaha Struck Pay Dirt Long Before
Nebraska Football Did Series: CROWNING MOMENTS IN HORSE RACING HISTORY".
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466:“Jockey Had Early Interest in Races,” Billings Gazette, May 6, 1935; “Derby Wins of the Triple Crown Victors: Omaha,” Blood-Horse, April 25, 2017; Allison,
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After his Triple Crown win, Saunders was embroiled in a murder scandal in
October 1935. He and a friend, Walter Schaeffer, went out on the town in
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When his riding career ended in 1950, Saunders worked as a trainer before becoming a racing official at racetracks in
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In
California, Saunders began riding under contract for trainer L.T. Whitehill, and earned his first major win at
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aboard Dunlin Lady. After his rise to fame as a jockey, he also had a minor role in the comedic film
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in 1935. News reports in
Saunders’ lifetime used both the nicknames “Willie” and “Smokey.”
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Saunders next moved to the east coast. There, Saunders rode for prominent owners such as
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May 13, 1935 TIME magazine article on Willie
Saunders win in the Kentucky Derby
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on April 4 1932. Competing at tracks in southern
California, Alberta-born
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when he was eight years old. There, he spent time at
Canadian tracks as a
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Southern
Hoofprints: A History of Horse Racing in Southern Alberta.
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Weight problems interrupted his career, as did the outbreak of
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On its formation in 1976, Saunders was inducted into the
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On June 29, 1936, Saunders married
Pauline Waterbury of
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252:United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
560:"True Crime in Horse Racing: A Deadly Night Out"
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236:(April 13, 1915 – July 30, 1986) was a
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643:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees
633:United States Army personnel of World War II
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604:Victoria, BC: Friesen Press, 2015. eBook.
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318:. He won the 1934 Rochambeau Handicap at
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270:in 1915. He moved with his family to
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585:"Jockey Saunders Weds Detroit Girl"
360:(1941) in which he played himself.
673:Deaths from lung cancer in Florida
490:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
407:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
238:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
208:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
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558:Kelly, Jennifer (July 17, 2022).
167:Governor Caldwell Handicap (1948)
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303:tutored Saunders on riding.
653:People from Bozeman, Montana
538:"Triple Crown Heroes: Omaha"
144:San Juan Capistrano Handicap
486:"William (Smokey) Saunders"
371:and served overseas in the
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110:Rochambeau Handicap (1934)
658:Sportspeople from Calgary
525:William Saunders obituary
234:William "Smokey" Saunders
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34:William “Smokey” Saunders
435:, he was diagnosed with
431:Living in retirement in
297:U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
174:St. Patrick Purse (1949)
141:Monrovia Handicap (1936)
127:South Shore Purse (1935)
332:"Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons
154:Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
158:New Year Stakes (1937)
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330:, who was trained by
178:American Classic Race
589:Ludington Daily News
419:Louisville, Kentucky
165:Ladies Stakes (1939)
129:Chicago Derby (1936)
564:The TwinSpires Edge
468:Southern Hoofprints
437:cancer of the brain
433:Hallandale, Florida
396:Calder Race Course
369:United States Army
322:aboard Woodward's
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215:Significant horses
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320:Narragansett Park
312:Hal Price Headley
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291:in northern
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250:and won the
248:horse racing
245:Thoroughbred
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86:(1986-07-30)
628:1986 deaths
623:1915 births
324:Belair Stud
262:Early years
97:Career wins
617:Categories
451:References
392:New Jersey
293:California
276:hot walker
68:1915-04-13
52:Occupation
470:, 279–80.
227:, Whopper
100:not found
388:Illinois
426:Detroit
400:Florida
377:malaria
328:Faireno
299:jockey
221:Faireno
202:Honours
569:9 July
495:9 July
394:, and
346:, and
314:, and
283:Career
241:jockey
210:(1976)
196:(1935)
191:(1935)
186:(1935)
172:(1948)
163:(1937)
156:(1937)
151:(1937)
146:(1936)
139:(1936)
134:(1936)
125:(1935)
120:(1935)
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56:Jockey
441:lungs
336:Omaha
326:colt
256:Omaha
225:Omaha
180:wins:
571:2023
497:2023
439:and
81:Died
62:Born
398:in
254:on
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
