Theodore Francis Atkinson was a Canadian-born American thoroughbred horse racing jockey, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ted Atkinson as a child emigrated with his family across the border to upstate New York. He began his career in thoroughbred horse racing in 1938 and first gained national recognition in 1941, when he rode War Relic to an upset win in the Narragansett Special over the 1941 U.S. Triple Crown winner Whirlaway. For 12 of his 21 years in the sport, Atkinson was contract rider for the wealthy New York Whitney family's Greentree Stable. In 1944, he was North America's leading jockey in both number of wins and money earned. He repeated the feat in 1946, when he became the first rider to achieve purse earnings of more the $1 million in a single season. Riding Greentree's colt Capot, Atkinson just missed winning the U.S. triple Crown in 1949 when he finished second in the Kentucky Derby then won both the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. 

June 17th, 1916 in Toronto  /  Died:   May 5th, 2005 - after a long illness