It’s not every day you get the opportunity to ride horses with a Derby
winning jockey, but that has been my good fortune this week. Ron
Franklin has been riding for us at Fair Hill. Of course I could not
wait to quiz Ron about his rides on Spectacular Bid.
Franklin was only 19 when he rode Spectacular Bid in the 1979 Kentucky
Derby. He had been riding in races for less than two years. Franklin
joined Buddy Delp’s barn as a hotwalker at 16 and rode his first horse
for Delp at 17. He had never sat on a horse before. Franklin rode his
first race for Delp on Pioneer Patty at the 18, and he won. Ron went on
to win the 1978 Eclipse Award as the leading apprentice.
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