(1918-1995, Inducted 2003)
Born in Cape Cod, Massahusetts, Ralph Neves was inducted in the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1960. He rode for 30 years (1934-64) and won 3,772 races, ranking him sixth on the all-time wins list at the time of his retirement. Neves began riding at age 13 under the supervision of trainer J.J. Millerick. He started his career at Longacres where he won riding titles in 1935 and 1938. Nicknamed “The Portuguese Pepperpot,” Neves also rode for the famed Calumet Farm but competed mostly at west coast tracks where he was a leading rider at Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields, Del Mar, etc. He recorded three wins each in the Santa Anita Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup, Hollywood Derby, Sunset Handicap and Santa Margarita Handicap. Neves’ biggest victories came in 1957 on Corn Husker in the Santa Anita Handicap and aboard future horse of the year Round Table in the Blue Grass Stakes. In 1954 he received the prestigous George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, named for the ill-fated rider with whom Neves had become good friends.
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