John Reiff

John "Knickerbocker" Reiff (1885–1974) was an American flat racing jockey, whose greatest successes came in Great Britain where he won three Classics.

Reiff came to England with his older brother Lester to ride for the American trainer Enoch Wishard as part of an influx of American jockeys who gained success around the turn of the century. At the time, he weighed just over 5 stone and gained the nickname "Knickerbocker" because of his juvenile style of dress. Among the races he won as a young jockey were the Royal Hunt Cup and Stewards Cup on Royal Flush, the Ebor Handicap on Jiffy II and the Cambridgeshire Handicap on Watershed. In 1899, he registered 27 winners.

In October 1901 his brother had his licence withdrawn by the Jockey Club for "pulling" a horse so that it did not win. It was a commonly held view that John would do likewise to suit the American gamblers with whom he associated. As a result of this incident, the younger Reiff moved to France, where, for a time he had his licence rescinded for the same reason.