Jean (John) B. LeBlanc (born November 23, 1939, in Rogersville, New Brunswick) is a Canadian retired jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He competed at many of the top racetracks in the United States[1] but for most of his career was based in Ontario where he was commonly known as John, the English language translation for his name.
LeBlanc is best known for riding Jean-Louis Lévesque's La Prevoyante through an undefeated 1972 campaign in North America.[2] An inductee in both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame[3] and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame,[4] the filly won all twelve of her starts under LeBlanc en route to be voted the 1972 Eclipse Award[5] as American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, the National Turf Writers Association's U.S. Horse of the Year[6] and the Sovereign Award as the Canadian Horse of the Year.[7]
Canadian and U.S. Triple Crown
editA winner of 1,466 races during his career, John LeBlanc was the jockey chosen by trainer Lucien Laurin to ride Angle Light, Secretariat's entrymate in the 1973 Kentucky Derby.[8] Among his other career highlights, LeBlanc won four Canadian Triple Crown races, taking back-to-back runnings of the Breeders' Stakes in 1968 and 1969 and the Prince of Wales Stakes in 1972 and 1984.
In 2006, LeBlanc received the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award, an honor given to a jockey in Canada who has made a significant contribution to the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.[9]
References
edit- ^ Wilmington, North Carolina Star-News - May 5, 1973
- ^ New York Times November 12, 1972
- ^ Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
- ^ National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Eclipse Awards at the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of America, Inc". Archived from the original on 2012-01-22. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
- ^ New York Times - December 27, 1972
- ^ Sovereign Award at the Jockey Club of Canada
- ^ Montreal Gazette - May 4, 1973
- ^ May 25, 2006 Bloodhorse.com article titled "LeBlanc Receives Avelino Gomez Memorial Award"