Jockey Rudy Turcotte, brother of Ron, dead at 69

Rudy Turcotte, whose otherwise solid career as a jockey was often overshadowed by that of his older Hall of Fame brother, Ron, died Feb. 13 in his hometown of Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada, following a lengthy illness. He was 69.

Rudy Turcotte once rode six winners on a card at Aqueduct, becoming just the third jockey at the time to do so. He was the leading jockey on several occasions at tracks in the Northeastern U.S. at the peak of his career in the early 1970s, according to Ron Turcotte. Rudy Turcotte won the 1980 Laurel Futurity, then a Grade 1, on Cure the Blues.

According to Daily Racing Form archived statistics, Rudy Turcotte began his career in 1968, riding 1,709 winners from 12,622 mounts. He rode his last winner in 1983 and his last race in 1984.

Perhaps the most recounted race of his career came on Nov. 18, 1972, when he rode Angle Light to a runner-up finish in the 1972 Garden State Stakes for 2-year-olds. The race was won by 3 1/2 lengths by his stablemate Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte.

Turcotte is survived by two daughters, Stacey and Trudy, and four grandchildren. Rudy and Ron were two of 12 children in the Turcotte family of New Brunswick.

Ron Turcotte, 77, is best known as the regular rider of the legendary Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Wheelchair-bound since a 1978 spill, he lives in Grand Falls and still makes occasional appearances at racing functions. He was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1979.