John Forth

John Forth (c. 1769 – 4 February 1848) was a British jockey and racehorse trainer. He is the oldest man to have ridden the Derby winner and one of the very few to have both ridden and trained the winner.

Career

Forth rose to prominence in the horseracing world late in life. There is no record of him having any major race victories as a young man, either as jockey or trainer. The peak of his career came only in 1829 when, aged 60, he performed the remarkable feat of both riding and training the Derby winner. As far as records are known, this also makes him the oldest jockey to win the Derby.

A year prior, he had placed a bet with a bookmaker named Crockford that he would win the race on a horse, The Exquisite, which he trained and planned to ride. Over the winter, however, he decided that Frederick, another horse in his stable, would be a more likely winner. He therefore asked Crockford to change his bet, and the bookmaker consented, considering neither to have a chance. Frederick won at 40/1, while Forth's other horse, The Exquisite, ridden by Frank Buckle, finished second, beaten just a head, at 50/1.