Jockey Jerry Lambert Dies at 74

Jerry Lambert, one of California's leading jockeys in the 1960s and 1970s, died Feb. 24 at Magali Farms in Santa Ynez, Calif.

Best known as the regular rider for Hall of Fame gelding Native Diver, Lambert, known as "Clyde" to many contemporaries, was 74. Funeral services are pending.



Born in Clyde, Kan., Lambert won three consecutive Hollywood Gold Cups with Native Diver from 1965-67. "The Black Horse," as Lambert often referred to him, Native Diver had a keen temperment and front-running style that was perfectly complemented by Lambert's deft touch.



Santa Anita Park's leading winter/spring meet rider in 1967-68 with 77 winners in 72 days of racing, Lambert was also leading rider at the California track's Oak Tree meeting in 1972 with 30 victories. He was also Del Mar's leading jockey in 1967.



"He was a great rider," retired Hall of Fame jockey Donald Pierce said. "I rode with him from the time he came to California in 1961 until I retired (in 1984). Any time he was in a race, you had to deal with him, because he didn't make mistakes. He was very quiet, very low key, and he'd come and beat you when you'd least expect it. He was a lot like (Bill Shoemaker). He was very quiet to be around and to ride with."



Known as a great judge of pace, and blessed with light hands and a cool demeanor, Lambert's career was often stymied by his love of the outdoors, which resulted in a number of protracted absences from the saddle.



"I think maybe the best indication of how good he was, was that every time he came back, he had a lot of business," Pierce said. "Buster Millerick, (the trainer of Native Diver), loved him and whenever Jerry would come back to ride, Buster put him on horses, which was very unusual then, (because) those older guys didn't like it when you took off and were gone for a while. Most of the time, when you took off, those horses went to other jocks and that's the way it was."

He was also a part of one of American racing's all-time greatest match races, which pitted Typecast and  Shoemaker against Convenience and Lambert at 1 1/8 miles on June 17, 1972 at Hollywood Park.



Typecast was favored, but Lambert, in the opinion of many observers, rode a race for the ages, enabling Convenience to prevail by a head in a $250,000 winner-take-all thriller witnessed by a crowd of 53,575.



"Not too many people out-rode Shoemaker, but Jerry had him in his hip pocket that day," said trainer Tom Proctor, who was a 16-year-old groom at the time. "He had Shoe in a bad spot going into the first turn and again when they turned for home. He had Shoe where he wanted him and he drifted out, so Shoe had to come inside. I never saw my dad (Convenience's trainer, Willard Proctor) get nervous, but he was that day. There were 53,000 'paid' there and from the time the horses came into the old paddock in front of the grandstand, I don't think anyone sat down. Jerry was a horse-backer and that was a big win for Glen Hill Farm."



Lambert enjoyed a career resurgence in 1987, riding at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California for trainers such as Jack Arterburn and Jerry Dutton. His comeback was derailed when he sustained a life-threatening spill going ot the far turn at Pleasanton Fairgrounds Racetrack in July of the same year, which resulted in a broken cheekbone, broken ankle, and collapsed lung.



Lambert was a winner of the 1995 Darley Award, given annually to America's top Arabian-bred jockey, and he finished his riding career at Los Alamitos Racetrack, where he dominated the track's Arabian standings from 1994 to 1998.



"Jerry may have had the best set of hands I've ever seen," said Los Alamitos track announcer Ed Burgart. "He sat a horse perfect and he never abused his mounts. They ran out of their minds for Jerry. He just had that magic touch.



Lambert broke his maiden on a half-mile bullring in Shelby, Mont., in 1958, won 2,535 Thoroughbred races and retired with 54 stakes wins at Hollywood Park, 42 at Santa Anita and 30 at Del Mar.