Mary Bacon
Encyclopedia
Mary Steedman Bacon Anderson, born 1948 in Chicago
, Illinois
and died Fort Worth, Texas
was an American thoroughbred
jockey
and model
. She was raised in Toledo
, Ohio
by her father a one-time big band pianist later involved in construction and her mother who was a stay at home mother. She had one sister and brother.
She saved her money and after graduation went to school in England
, where she earned an instructor's degree from a riding academy. When she returned to the United States, she taught riding at hunt club outside of Detroit. However the lure of the track was in her and returned to it by galloping horses on mornings at Detroit Race Course
.
It was at the Detroit track that Mary Steedman met jockey Johnny "Pug" Bacon. They married soon afterward. They competed together at Hazel Park, now defunct, in Michigan
however in 1972 the track ruled that husbands and wives could not riding against each other. Combined with added marital difficulties Bacon divorced her husband in 1972. Pug Bacon would later die in a 1977 auto accident.
In March 1969, Bacon gave birth to a daughter, Suzie, only hours after riding horses in the practice gate. She returned to riding two weeks after giving birth. Bacon won her first race June 5, 1969. She won 55 times in 396 races that first year. She finished in the money 160 times.
In 1974 two weeks into the spring meeting at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack
Mary for the first time ranked among the track's top ten jockeys.
She once graced the pages of the fashion magazine Vogue
and modeled nationally for cosmetics giant Revlon after being chosen as their Charlie Girl
ad campaign.
Four Junes after her first victory, Playboy
presented Bacon as part of a collection of photographs the magazine titled, "Woman's Work", which appeared in their June 1973 issue which also featured their Playmate of the Year.
In June 1974 came a Newsweek
cover for a story on women emerging in sports. The news magazine used 14 photographs inside to help illustrate its story. Bacon's was the only face to appear more than once.
in New Orleans, she attended a Ku Klux Klan
rally down the road in Walker, La. A prominent personality, she was asked to speak. She was introduced to a crowd of 2,700 by the national director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
, David Duke
.
"We are not just a bunch of illiterate Southern nigger-killers," the Catholic woman from Toledo told the rally. "We are good, white, Christian people working for a white America. When one of your wives or one of your sisters gets raped by a nigger, maybe you'll get smart and join the Klan."
For the first time in her life, a camera would be her undoing. A local television station filmed the speech. Bacon was back in the national headlines. In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal
would refer to her as "The Klansman's Jane Fonda."
Mary however told People Magazine at the time she was confident the remarks would have no impact. "People will only worry about what I do from the starting gate to the finish line—not about what I do in my personal life," she says. "I'm paid to win races."
Further she told the publication that the Klan is not racist and that she isn't either. "All the records I buy are Motown records," she says stoutly. "Some of my best friends are blacks."
At the time People Magazine stated there is speculation that all this could merely be a sad attempt on Bacon's part to focus renewed public attention on herself. "Once I was called the Bunny Jockey because of Playboy," she slyly admits, "now I'll be known as the one in the white sheets."
However almost immediately, her endorsement contracts were canceled with Revlon and Dutch Masters. Trainers looked for riders carrying less baggage. She had 323 mounts in 1974; the next year, she would get only 143; by 1976, her total fell to 38.
She rode for a week in November 1978 at Japan's Oi Racecourse
and enjoyed success with the mounts she received. Per an article for Stars & Stripes
magazine she had by mid-week ridden 12 horses, put three of them across the finish line first and one second-place finish and picked up more than five million yen ($26,344 plus change) in purses.
She sued for negligence, claiming that the gate had been unsafe. She won and was awarded a $3 million settlement. She never collected. The track declared bankruptcy and went out of business.
She was married to jockey Jeff Anderson in 1981 and remained with him until her death.
On June 10, 1982, Bacon went down in a spill at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. She was unconscious and bleeding from the head when she was taken to the hospital. Preliminary examinations indicated a serious head injury and she remained unconscious for eight days.
. While discovered shortly after the gun was discharged she died in the early morning hours of June 8 at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
Sixteen days later, Mary Bacon would return to New York and Belmont Park, where she had enjoyed much of her early success. Her cremated ashes were spread over the grave of Ruffian
, perhaps the greatest female thoroughbred in history.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and died Fort Worth, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
was an American thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She was raised in Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
by her father a one-time big band pianist later involved in construction and her mother who was a stay at home mother. She had one sister and brother.
Early career
While having no horses of her own as a child she did have interaction with them from a neighboring farm. In high school, Mary found work as an outrider, helping in morning workouts and accompanying horses to the starting gate at Toledo's Raceway Park.She saved her money and after graduation went to school in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where she earned an instructor's degree from a riding academy. When she returned to the United States, she taught riding at hunt club outside of Detroit. However the lure of the track was in her and returned to it by galloping horses on mornings at Detroit Race Course
Detroit Race Course
The Detroit Race Course was a horse racing facility in the Detroit, Michigan suburb of Livonia in the United States. Opened in 1950, it hosted Thoroughbred flat racing and harness racing for Standardbreds....
.
It was at the Detroit track that Mary Steedman met jockey Johnny "Pug" Bacon. They married soon afterward. They competed together at Hazel Park, now defunct, in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
however in 1972 the track ruled that husbands and wives could not riding against each other. Combined with added marital difficulties Bacon divorced her husband in 1972. Pug Bacon would later die in a 1977 auto accident.
In March 1969, Bacon gave birth to a daughter, Suzie, only hours after riding horses in the practice gate. She returned to riding two weeks after giving birth. Bacon won her first race June 5, 1969. She won 55 times in 396 races that first year. She finished in the money 160 times.
In 1974 two weeks into the spring meeting at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
Mary for the first time ranked among the track's top ten jockeys.
Media coverage
With her notable good looks, charm and charisma Mary Bacon enjoyed significant attention from a variety of media sources.She once graced the pages of the fashion magazine Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and modeled nationally for cosmetics giant Revlon after being chosen as their Charlie Girl
Charlie Girl
Charlie Girl is a musical comedy which premiered in the West End of London at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965 and played for 2,202 performances, closing on March 27, 1971...
ad campaign.
Four Junes after her first victory, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
presented Bacon as part of a collection of photographs the magazine titled, "Woman's Work", which appeared in their June 1973 issue which also featured their Playmate of the Year.
In June 1974 came a Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
cover for a story on women emerging in sports. The news magazine used 14 photographs inside to help illustrate its story. Bacon's was the only face to appear more than once.
Ku Klux Klan participation and media downfall
In April 1975, while riding at the Fair Grounds Race CourseFair Grounds Race Course
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC....
in New Orleans, she attended a Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
rally down the road in Walker, La. A prominent personality, she was asked to speak. She was introduced to a crowd of 2,700 by the national director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
.
"We are not just a bunch of illiterate Southern nigger-killers," the Catholic woman from Toledo told the rally. "We are good, white, Christian people working for a white America. When one of your wives or one of your sisters gets raped by a nigger, maybe you'll get smart and join the Klan."
For the first time in her life, a camera would be her undoing. A local television station filmed the speech. Bacon was back in the national headlines. In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
would refer to her as "The Klansman's Jane Fonda."
Mary however told People Magazine at the time she was confident the remarks would have no impact. "People will only worry about what I do from the starting gate to the finish line—not about what I do in my personal life," she says. "I'm paid to win races."
Further she told the publication that the Klan is not racist and that she isn't either. "All the records I buy are Motown records," she says stoutly. "Some of my best friends are blacks."
At the time People Magazine stated there is speculation that all this could merely be a sad attempt on Bacon's part to focus renewed public attention on herself. "Once I was called the Bunny Jockey because of Playboy," she slyly admits, "now I'll be known as the one in the white sheets."
However almost immediately, her endorsement contracts were canceled with Revlon and Dutch Masters. Trainers looked for riders carrying less baggage. She had 323 mounts in 1974; the next year, she would get only 143; by 1976, her total fell to 38.
She rode for a week in November 1978 at Japan's Oi Racecourse
Oi Racecourse
, also known as Tokyo City Keiba , is located in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1950 for horse racing, on weekends it also hosts one of the largest Tokyo-area flea markets...
and enjoyed success with the mounts she received. Per an article for Stars & Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
magazine she had by mid-week ridden 12 horses, put three of them across the finish line first and one second-place finish and picked up more than five million yen ($26,344 plus change) in purses.
Injuries and a career end
In May 1979, she was seriously hurt in a starting-gate accident at a small track in East St. Louis, Ill. Her mount flipped. The horse landed on her.She sued for negligence, claiming that the gate had been unsafe. She won and was awarded a $3 million settlement. She never collected. The track declared bankruptcy and went out of business.
She was married to jockey Jeff Anderson in 1981 and remained with him until her death.
On June 10, 1982, Bacon went down in a spill at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. She was unconscious and bleeding from the head when she was taken to the hospital. Preliminary examinations indicated a serious head injury and she remained unconscious for eight days.
Suicide
In pain from lingering riding injuries and then because of cervical cancer, at the age of 43 Mary committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot in a motel Fort Worth, Texas June 7, 1991 on the eve of the Belmont StakesBelmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
. While discovered shortly after the gun was discharged she died in the early morning hours of June 8 at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
Sixteen days later, Mary Bacon would return to New York and Belmont Park, where she had enjoyed much of her early success. Her cremated ashes were spread over the grave of Ruffian
Ruffian (horse)
Ruffian was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse. Ruffian is considered by many to be the greatest female racehorse in history. Ruffian is among the greatest U.S. racehorses of all time. Her story was told in 2007 film Ruffian.- Career :An almost coal black filly of 16 and a half hands,...
, perhaps the greatest female thoroughbred in history.