Old-timers Vincent Powers, Billy Kelly earn Hall of Fame status

Vincent Powers, a jockey for both the flat and steeplechase who went on to become a champion trainer, and Billy Kelly, a Thoroughbred who won 39 races from 69 starts in the early 20th century, have been elected to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame, the Hall announced on Wednesday.

The two were elected by the Hall’s Historic Review Committee. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony Aug. 7 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where the Hall is located, as part of the roster of inductees that includes contemporary horses, trainers, and jockeys.

Born in New York in 1891, Powers was North America’s champion flat jockey in 1908 and 1909 and went on to post the most steeplechase wins by a rider in 1917. According to the Hall of Fame, Powers is the only rider in North American history to top the national standings as both a flat and steeplechase jockey, and he was only the second rider in history up to 1908 to post more than 300 wins in a year.

After serving as the contract rider for Greentree Stables’s steeplechase horses, Powers took over as Greentree’s trainer in 1921. The horses he trained won the Grand National in 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1937, the Hall said, and his best-known horse was Jolly Roger, who was the first steeplechaser to win more than $100,000.

Billy Kelly, a foal of 1916, won 19 stakes in his 69 starts from 1918-23. The bay gelding “was widely considered the greatest sprinter of his era and was able to stretch out his speed and win at distances of up to 1 1/4 miles,” the Hall said in a release.

Although Billy Kelly was beaten by his Hall of Fame stablemate Sir Barton in the 1919 Kentucky Derby, Billy Kelly beat that rival to the wire in eight of the 12 races they both appeared in. He also beat Hall of Famer Old Rosebud. In his only start as a 5-year-old, he finished second to Hall of Famer Exterminator, an iron horse who won 50 times in 100 starts.