1977 HORSE RACING INDUCTEE
EDDIE TAPLIN
Eddie Taplin was-and still is-the only jockey to be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame. The native of lowa moved to Fresno at a young that age and began his riding career at the tender age of seventeen. Taplin galloped on the riding circuits in this country, Europe, Australia, Cuba, Canada, and Mexico. He rode 9,235 races and won 1,343 times, a credible average considering the caliber of competition at that time. His career highlight was riding in the famed Kentucky Derby in 1909 where he finished seventh. In 1910, he used that Derby experience to ride eleven winners in three days and seventeen in the space of twenty-seven races at the Emeryville track in Oakland. After his retirement as a rider, he became a trainer for the Spreckels family stable. Taplin died in 1956.