Danny Maher was only 14 years old when he rode a racehorse to victory for the first time. Within a few years, the teen sensation was among the best jockeys in America. Maher’s meteoric rise, however, did not come without some controversy, which led the young rider to leave the United States and head to England for a fresh start.

The move proved to be a brilliant one for Maher, who became one of the most accomplished and revered jockeys in the history of the sport. He won nine English classic races and topped the national standings in wins twice. The Daily Telegraph described Maher as “the true artist” and “the aristocrat of riders.”

Maher’s story began in Hartford, Ct., where he was born in 1881 to Irish immigrant parents. At the age of seven, he was sent to work in the stables of trainer William “Father Bill” Daly. A respected horseman, Daly was known for developing the skills of jockey hopefuls. Among the young riders tutored by Daly were Edward “Snapper” Garrison, Henry Griffin, James McLaughlin, and Winnie O’Connor, all eventual Hall of Famers. Daly began putting Maher in the saddle in 1895. The young rider was reported to be no more than 65 pounds at the time.

Showing great aptitude, Maher won his first race with his second mount, Phoebus, in Providence, Rhode Island. Maher began to win often and his skills caught the attention of several notable trainers, including future Hall of Famer Andrew J. Joyner.

In 1897, Maher began riding for top owners such as William H. Clark and David Gideon and he was thriving in many of the top stakes races in New York. His notable wins at the metropolitan tracks included the Dash Stakes (1897, 1898, 1900), Champagne Stakes (1898), First Special (1898), Flatbush Stakes (1898), Test Handicap (1898, 1899), Eclipse Stakes (1899, 1900), Tremont Stakes (1899, 1900), Brooklyn Handicap (1899), Gazelle Handicap (1899), Carter Handicap (1900), Golden Rod Stakes (1900), Toboggan Handicap (1899), Ladies Handicap (1900), and Metropolitan Handicap (1900), among others.

But what appeared to be a career on the rise quickly fell apart for Maher. After the 1899 Suburban Handicap at Sheepshead Bay, Clark — without presenting any evidence — accused the young rider of conspiring with gamblers. The owner made it his mission to ruin Maher’s career. Maher vehemently denied the accusation and there were never any proof validating Clark’s claim. The episode that prompted the allegation was Maher’s ride on the Clark-owned Banastar in the 16th edition of the prestigious Suburban. Maher had previously piloted Banaster to victory in the Brooklyn Handicap and the Suburban was being billed as a showdown between the 4-year-old colt and the 5-year-old mare Imp, a future Hall of Famer.

Banastar was a temperamental horse and was at his worst prior to the Suburban, attempting to dump Maher multiple times on the way to the post. It got worse at the start. Banaster refused to line up and delayed the contest for almost 45 minutes. Once coaxed into line, Banastar again tried to toss Maher after the break. The frustrated Maher responded by pulling his mount up and striking him in the head with his whip. Imp easily won the race. Following the contest, Clark told the stewards that Maher had intentionally thrown the race, disregarding the ample evidence his horse was simply being unruly.

Although they fined Maher $200 for his misuse of the whip, the stewards cleared him of any other wrongdoing. Clark, however, refused to move on. Maher was not seen at any of the New York tracks for the rest of the year. Clark, as the holder of Maher’s riding contract, refused to put him on any of his horses and kept him from accepting mounts from other stables. Maher was 17 at the time and had no recourse. Jockey contracts were ironclad and owners possessed all the control.

Just as he was becoming a star, Maher was grounded.

Maher’s banishment ended in February 1900. All it took was Clark’s death. No longer in racing purgatory and a free agent, Maher returned to his winning ways. In the first half of the year he won the Ladies Handicap with Oneck Queen, the Tremont with Blues, the Carter with Box, both the Dash and Golden Rod with Bellario, and the Metropolitan with Ethelbert (in which Imp finished third). But the fallout from his forced exile by Clark lingered. On occasions when he didn’t win aboard a favorite, the newspapers were quick to pounce on Maher.

“Some day when Maher realizes that he is paid to ride horses as they should be ridden, to win, his efforts will be more appreciated by the spectators and he will win more races for those who employ him,” quipped one contemporary reporter.

Maher was tired of the attacks on his character and was looking to make a change. In August 1900, famed sportsman Pierre Lorillard made Maher an offer he couldn’t refuse. Lorillard signed Maher to a lucrative contract to ride for the English division of his powerful stable. Lorillard had competed in England with success for more than 20 years with American horses such as Hall of Famer Parole and standout Iroquois. Maher wasn’t the only American rider to jump to England.

Upon his arrival, Maher was competing against fellow American exports such as Tod Sloan, John “Skeets” Martin, and brothers John and Lester Reiff, among others.

The Americans enjoyed tremendous success. In his book The History of the Derby Stakes, Roger Mortimer said the leading English jockeys of the period “were all superb horsemen, but they were made to look stilted and inept when the Americans arrived with their crouched and unattractive seat and their almost indecent tendency to make the pace a cracking one from flagfall right to the finish.”

Maher quickly earned an elite reputation in England. He won with his first two mounts at Manchester and caught the attention of Newmarket-based trainers such as George Blackwell and Peter Gilpin, as well as a variety of top owners, including Lord Cadogan, Sir David Cooper, Maj. Eustace Ladder, and Sir James Miller. Maher’s arrangement with Lorillard allowed him the ability to freelance for other stables, which proved to be most advantageous.

In April 1901, Maher won his first English classic, riding the filly Aida to victory in the 1,000 Guineas for Sir James Miller at Newmarket. Maher was also winning regularly that spring and early summer at the Epsom and Royal Ascot meetings. Lorillard died in July and from that point forward Maher rode primarily for the top English stables.

Maher returned to Connecticut in December 1902 to spend a short break with his parents. He had won 106 races that year to finish third in the English standings. Greeted by reporters upon his arrival back in America, Maher said he had “been most fortunate this past season in that I rode two of the best 2-year-old colts in England, Flotsam and Rock Sand. I am looking forward to next year’s racing but will find it difficult to decide which of them I shall ride in the classics.”

Flotsam was Maher’s choice for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, but the decision backfired. Rock Sand, ridden by Skeets Martin, collared Flotsam in the final 100 yards. Maher then took over on Rock Sand to win the Epsom Derby and Doncaster St. Leger as the colt became England’s 10th Triple Crown winner. Following his racing career, Rock Sand was sold to August Belmont II for $125,000. Among others, he sired Mahubah, the dam of Man o’ War.

In 1905, Maher won his second Epsom Derby aboard Cicero for Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery. He partnered with Maj. Eustace Loder’s colt Spearmint to win the race again the following year, giving him his third win in the classic in four years. Three days after the victory with Spearmint, Maher piloted Keystone II to win the Epsom Oaks for Lord Derby. A week after pulling off the Epsom classic double, Maher traveled to France and won the Grand Prix de Paris aboard Spearmint.

Maher had become a superstar. He led the English standings with 139 wins in 1908. The next year, he won his second St. Leger with Bayardo for owner Alfred Cox. Maher said Bayardo was “the best horse I ever rode, the best ever.” Along with the St. Leger, Maher partnered with Bayardo to win the Prince of Wales Stakes, Eclipse Stakes, Champion Stakes, Chester Vase, and Ascot Gold Cup, among others.

The only English classic that had eluded Maher at this point was the 2,000 Guineas, which he crossed off the list in 1910 aboard Neil Gow for Lord Rosebery. For good measure, Maher won it again in 1912 with Sweeper for American owner Herman Duryea, who had moved most of his horses to Europe following the passing of the Hart-Agnew anti-gambling legislation in New York. Maher also won the Irish Derby at the Curragh that year aboard Civility.

In 1913, Maher was once again England’s leading rider with 115 wins. Away from the track, he became a naturalized English citizen that year and married actress Dorothy Fraser. Maher, however, was beginning to struggle physically from years of using dangerous methods to keep his weight down. He contracted tuberculosis and spent most of 1914 in South Africa in hopes the climate would help him recover.

After his health improved to an extent, Maher attempted an ill-advised comeback in September 1915. He was greeted with warm applause by the crowd at Newmarket, but after almost two years away, Maher could no longer ride. His mount, Sun Yat, was well beaten and the once mighty rider was shaking after the race. Fourteen months later, at the age of 35, Maher died of consumption.

Maher’s record was an exceptional one. He won 1,771 races (1,421 in England and 350 in America) from 6,781 mounts (26.1 percent). More than a century after his death, Maher is still regarded as one of the greatest jockeys in the rich history of the English turf. Although the majority of his success took place in England, Maher was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1955.

“It was Maher’s natural charm and his exceptional intelligence that appealed,” English journalist Sidney Galtrey wrote. “He had character and personality.”

Originally Published: August 5, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.