Fred Taral

Who was Fred Taral?

Fred Taral was an American Hall of Fame jockey.

Taral began his career in racing in the 1880s at small racetracks in Oklahoma. By 1889 he was among the 24-member jockey colony at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans and competed in his first Kentucky Derby. In 1908 he left racing in the United States and for a time rode and trained in Germany where he rode Macdonald to victory in the 1909 Deutsches Derby. He returned home following the outbreak of World War I.

For owner James R. Keene, Taral rode future Hall of Famers Domino and Henry of Navarre. He also rode Domino against Henry of Navarre to a dead heat in an 1894 match race. On different horses, that year Taral won the New York Handicap Triple, capturing the Brooklyn Handicap, Metropolitan Handicap and the Suburban Handicap. In all, Taral won the Brooklyn Handicap on three occasions and the Metropolitan Handicap twice. He was also a two-time winner of the Travers, Champagne and Withers Stakes.

In the pre-Triple Crown era, Fred Taral had back-to-back wins in the Preakness Stakes. He first won it in 1894 aboard Assignee and in 1895 he won his second Preakness plus the Belmont Stakes with the colt Belmar. In 1899 he won the 1899 Kentucky Derby aboard Manuel.