CHAMPION BROTHERS JOCKEYING FOR CITY'S RECOGNITION

LITTLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN HOME TOWN FOR GIANTS OF HORSE RACING

- 

N Nottingham Road Cemetery there is a grave to a Derby man who in his brief lifetime he died at the tragically young age of 22 - was part of a now forgotten dynasty of famous jockeys and rode more than 50 winners including the Ebor Handicap and the Althorp Park Stakes before coming second in the 1863 Cesarewitch and the 1862 Cambridgeshire Handicap. Yet there is very little recognition for him or his more famous three brothers, who were giants of the racing world in their day in their home city.

John Loates, whose father, Archibald, was landlord of the Oddfellows’ Arms, on King Street in Derby, had been apprenticed to Joseph Dawson at Newmarket and started riding in public at the age of 15. His obituary in the Derbyshire Advertiser, eight days after his death on March 5, 1866, referred to him as “the famous jockey”.

He had been suffering from gout, which prevented him from riding. The obituary said: “Loates was a most excellent jockey and there were few to beat him.’ He was brought home to Derby to his father’s house in Agard Street because of his ill health and there he died and was buried later to be joined by his mother (1886) and father (1890) in the same grave.

But Archibald was the father of eight children and John wasn’t the only one to become a jockey. He was followed into the profession by Charles, (known as Benny, born 1852) and Sam (1865) and Tommy (1867), the latter born after John had died. Together, they became as famous in their chosen sport as the names of Messi and Federer today.

Tommy has become the most famous of the brothers, who attended the Wesleyan school attached to King Street Chapel. While a pupil there, he once received a prize for drawing from Derby MP Sir William Harcourt. All three lads were destined to become professional jockeys, but it was Tommy who had the greatest success.