10/08/2026
Hall of Fame jockey Don Pierce passes away at age 89
Don Pierce, one of the premier big-money riders of the 1960s and 1970s who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010, died at the age of 89 on Oct. 5, according to his brother, Larry.
A native of Clebit, Oklahoma, Pierce rode his first winner at New Mexico’s Ruidoso Downs in 1954 before establishing himself on the Southern California circuit. He rode for top trainers such as Hall of Famers Mesh Tenney, William Molter, Charlie Whittingham, and Robert Wheeler. He reached a personal peak in 1973 when he led all jockeys in North America with 32 stakes victories.
Pierce also enjoyed success in New York, where he won a Belmont Park riding title and captured several of Saratoga’s most prestigious races, including the Hopeful and Jim Dandy.
Pierce won four runnings of California’s signature race for older horses, the Santa Anita Handicap, and won the Santa Anita Derby twice. He won five consecutive editions of the Los Angeles Handicap (1969 through 1973) as well as five runnings of the Hollywood Oaks and Santa Anita Oaks. He won the Del Mar Debutante four times and the Del Mar Derby, Del Mar Oaks, Santa Monica Handicap, Santa Ana Handicap, and Santa Margarita Handicap three times each.
Among Pierce’s top mounts were Flying Paster, Hill Rise, Quack, Taisez Vous, La Zanzara, Triple Bend, Kennedy Road, Modus Vivendi, Forceten, Minstrel Miss, and Princessnesian, with whom he defeated males in the 1968 Hollywood Gold Cup to cap a five-win day.
Pierce retired in 1984 with 3,546 wins, including 351 stakes, and purse earnings of $39,018,422.
