Sweet Kiss crossed the finish line first at a 1923 race at Belmont Park. But when the jockey fell off dead, the horse became known as “Sweet Kiss of Death.”
Historic Belmont Park is New York’s most famous racetrack. As the final race in the Triple Crown, Belmont Park has hosted historic races, like when Secretariat took the Triple Crown in 1973.
But the strangest race in Belmont history happened decades earlier.
Back in 1923, a surprising upset victory shocked the crowds at the racetrack. And when the jockey fell from the back of the winning horse, the crowds suffered an even greater shock.
The winning jockey had died during the race, leading to the memorable headline “Dead Jockey Wins Race!”
Frank Hayes and Sweet Kiss
On June 4, 1923, a young jockey named Frank Hayes mounted a horse named Sweet Kiss to run the steeplechase. The challenging race involves guiding horses through obstacles, including high fences and ditches filled with water.
Sweet Kiss was not the favorite going into the race. In fact, the horse was a long shot, with 20:1 odds.
Hayes, the jockey, had also never won a race. He’d worked as a stable hand, standing in when horses needed jockeys. In fact, Hayes had only ever raced one time before the fateful day.
Sweet Kiss pulled ahead during the steeplechase, leaving the favorite behind. Somehow, Sweet Kiss crossed the finish line first. But the crowds knew something had gone wrong with the jockey.
As one paper reported, “the spectators noticed that Hayes was bending over his mount’s neck, but they thought that he was trying to fix his stirrup. Suddenly the boy fell in a heap to the ground.”
At the finish line, track doctor John Voorhees pronounced Hayes dead. The jockey had died of a heart attack during the race. Sweet Kiss had kept running and the jockey stayed on the horse, and somehow they crossed the finish line ahead of the other horses.
Hayes had won the race — but he became the only dead jockey in history to take first place.
Newspapers Report “Dead Jockey Wins Race!”
News of the shocking outcome quickly appeared on newsstands.
“There was a tragic ending to the steeplechase race at Belmont Park yesterday afternoon,” one paper reported, “Jockey Hayes dropping dead from his saddle after riding Miss A. M. Frayling’s jumper Sweet Kiss to a splendid victory over the two-mile course.”
Other reporters were even more dramatic.
“The grim reaper paid a sensational visit to the Belmont Park track yesterday,” one paper declared after the race.
“Hayes was valiantly but weakly, tugging at the bridle as death gripped his heart and the mists swam before his eyes.”
Many of the newspaper reports eulogized Hayes.
“The exertion and excitement proved too great,” said the New York’s Daily News, which also described Hayes as “well-liked … favorite in the saddling room and stable and took a great pride in his calling.”
Reporters also speculated on the cause of death.
“Did the excitement of riding his first winner, a joy so dear to all jockeys worth the name, prove too much for Hayes?” one paper asked. “Probably.”
What Caused the Jockey’s Death?
What caused the jockey’s death during the steeplechase race? As a last-minute replacement, Hayes pushed himself to extreme levels to qualify for the race.
Before the race, Hayes had to drop 12 pounds in a matter of days to meet the weight requirement.
“He was confronted with the task of taking off nearly 10 pounds in 24 hours,” one paper reported. “This morning he spent several hours on the road, jogging off surplus weight.”
According to reporters, Hayes “strove and sweated and denied himself water and when he climbed into the saddle at post time he was weak and tired.”
Tragically, the strain caused Hayes to experience a heart attack during the middle of the race.
Hayes was buried in the riding silks he’d worn when he won his first and last race.
Sweet Kiss’s career as a racehorse was also over — because everyone started calling the horse “Sweet Kiss of Death.” It’s no wonder that other jockeys didn’t want to try their luck.
Discover more strange sports stories by checking out Bruce Wilson’s Strange But True Sports History, available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.