FORMER RIDING CHAMP PAUL FREY DIES AT 73
AUBURN, Wash. (Jan. 16, 2012) – Paul Frey, who rode 2,478 winners including riding titles at Longacres in 1964 and 1966, died of pneumonia Jan. 14 at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.
A native of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Frey, 73, became only the second jockey to top 100 wins at Longacres while winning 103 races in 62 days in 1964. He then won a record 115 races in 1966, a mark that stood until 1971 when Larry Pierce rode 121 winners. Frey finished No. 4 all-time both in wins and stakes wins at Longacres with 810 and 41, respectively, and his 17.1 win percentage ranked second only to Gary Boulanger all-time. In both 2010 and 2011, Mr. Frey was a finalist for the Washington Racing Hall of Fame.
Frey also was leading rider in Northern California where one of his top mounts was California Derby winner On My Honor, a diminutive colt that Frey rode to a fourth-place finish in the 1963 Kentucky Derby. Frey rode many of the Northwest’s top horses including multiple stakes triumphs aboard Lak Nak and Grey Papa, and he won the 1960 Longacres Derby on Sparrow Castle and the 1961 Washington Futurity on Dr. John H.
Following his riding career Frey worked in the jockeys’ rooms at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields, including a stint as valet for Hall of Fame rider Russell Baze.
His wife, Diane; daughters, Danae and Debbie; son, Jay; stepsons, Jim and John; and many grandchildren survive Mr. Frey. Monday evening, grandson Kyle Frey was announced winner of the 2011 Eclipse Award as North America’s leading apprentice jockey. No funeral services have been planned.
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