Riding high-strung thoroughbreds is a dangerous occupation, but Bobby Baird, who won 3,749 races during a jockey career spanning six decades, was well aware that the peril didn’t remotely compare to that of battlefield combat on the beaches of Normandy.
Mr. Baird’s riding career was interrupted by his 3 1/2 years of military service in World War II, during which he participated in the Normandy invasion and earned four Purple Hearts.
“He had a lot of war stories,” said Arlington Park’s executive vice president, Bill Thayer. “He talked about when he was driving a Jeep at Normandy. A guy replaced him and about a half-hour later a German tank gunner blew up the Jeep and his replacement. Bobby came back a war hero.”
A resident of Mt. Prospect, Mr. Baird, 85, died Friday, Dec. 16, at Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove Village of a heart ailment, a hospital spokesman said.
Mr. Baird was a native of New Waverly, Texas. He began riding professionally in 1937 and was an up-and-coming jockey working for renowned trainer Ben Jones when he left the racetrack to fight in World War II.
After returning from the war, Mr. Baird became one of Arlington Park’s most successful jockeys. In 1948 he won four of the track’s major races, including the Arlington Classic on Papa Redbird and the Arlington Handicap on Stud Poker.
He went on to become prominent nationally, doing his most notable riding on 3-year-olds. He won the Louisiana Derby in 1956 on Reaping Right and in 1963 on City Line; the 1962 Arkansas Derby on Areopolis; and the 1962 Ohio Derby on Gushing Wind.
Mr. Baird had Kentucky Derby mounts in 1950, 1951, 1954, 1956 and 1978. His best finish was a fifth with Pintor Lita in 1956, but he is best remembered for his 1978 ride on 10th place Raymond Earl. He was 57 years old when he rode Raymond Earl, making him the oldest jockey in the history of the Kentucky Derby.
“I’m a little prejudiced because back in the 1950s I was his agent, but I always thought he was a great rider,” said Thayer. “For a while, he had the record for winners at the Fair Grounds meeting in New Orleans.
“He never got the recognition he deserved,” he said.
In 1982, Mr. Baird retired from riding at age 62 and settled in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. He trained for three years, then worked for several years as an agent for son Eddie “E.T.” Baird, who rides at Arlington Park and Hawthorne Race Course.
Mr. Baird is survived by his wife, Marie, three sons and three daughters.
Funeral services have been held.
