Brian Taylor

Who was Brian Taylor?

Brian Taylor was a successful jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing best known for riding Snow Knight to victory in the 1974 Epsom Derby.

Taylor was born in Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, England. Among his other career wins were the Princess Margaret Stakes, Cherry Hinton Stakes, Cork and Orrery Stakes, Earl of Sefton Stakes, Sandown Classic Trial, July Cup, Derby Stakes, John Porter Stakes, Ormonde Stakes, Craven Stakes, and in France, the Prix Gontaut-Biron.

While racing at the Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on 8 December 1984, his mount, Silver Star, stumbled, throwing him off his saddle while crossing the finish line. Taylor would succumb two days later in hospital from the serious neck and head injuries he had received.

Taylor was suffering from shingles that day, and wanted someone else to replace him for that race. At the last minute, however, he decided to do the race himself which turned out to be his last.

Less than 10 months before Taylor's fall, Silver Star also ended the career of another top jockey at the time, Frenchman Philippe Paquet, by throwing the jockey onto the turf during morning training on 13 February 1984, in similar fashion. Paquet suffered a fractured skull and remained in a coma for more than three months before regaining consciousness.