Michael Hole
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Hole was a jockey
in American
Thoroughbred horse racing
.
Born in Canterbury
, England
, Michael Hole moved to the United States in 1961 where he rode professionally for fourteen years, winning 2042 races while riding horses to earnings of US$13,520,479. He was a regular rider at NYRA
tracks in New York
and at Monmouth Park Racetrack
, Garden State Park Racetrack, and the Atlantic City Race Course
in New Jersey
. In winter, Michael Hole relocated to Florida
where he competed at Tropical Park
, Hialeah Park
and at Gulfstream Park
.
In the U.S. Triple Crown
series, Michael Hole rode in three Kentucky Derby
s with his best result a fifth place finish in 1973. He finished tenth in the 1970 Preakness Stakes
. Among his early major wins, Michael Hole captured the 1969 Jersey Derby
aboard Al Hattab. In 1971, he took over as the regular rider of the 1970 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, Forward Gal
, piloting her to wins in the Comely Stakes
, Gazelle Handicap
, Monmouth Oaks and the Betsy Ross Handicap. In 1975, Michael Hole was the principal rider of Dearly Precious
, helping to guide her to that year's Eclipse Award
as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
On May 11, 1968 Michael Hole rode four winners on a single race card at Suffolk Downs
then did it for the second time on January 3, 1970 at Gulfstream Park and for a third time at Aqueduct Racetrack
on November 6, 1974. His most successful winning day came on November 8, 1969 at Garden State Park when he rode five winners of which four came in succession.
on Long Island
, not far from his home in Garden City, New York
. The death was reported by Long Island parkway police as a suicide
by asphyxia
tion when the exhaust pipe of his vehicle was found to have been deliberately blocked. Much speculation about Michael Hole's death followed when a major scandal erupted involving mobster "Fat" Tony Ciulla, a member of the Boston
, Massachusetts
Winter Hill Gang
who admitted to paying jockeys to fix hundreds of races at New York tracks and five other states in 1974 and 1975. As late as October 26, 2005, the Los Angeles Times
reiterated that "the theory lingers that Hole, a reluctant race-fixer, was a victim of foul play." That his life may have been in danger became a certainty when a November 6, 1978 feature story by Sports Illustrated
reported that trainer
John Cotter testified before the New York State Racing and Wagering Board
that Michael Hole told him he had been offered $5,000 to hold back one of his horses at Saratoga Race Course
during the 1974 meeting. In testimony given in exchange for immunity, mobster Tony Ciulla, a close associate of the notorious Whitey Bulger
who is wanted by the FBI on nineteen counts of murder
, confirmed he had made the bribe attempt to Hole through one of his jockey intermediaries, first offering $5,000 and then upping it to $10,000, but that Hole had turned him down. Sports Illustrated said that after Hole had told trainer John Cotter of the bribe attempt, he reported it to Warren Mehrtens
, a track steward and well-known former jockey, and the information was turned over to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau and the FBI.
At the time of his death, Michael Hole had been suffering from mental health
problems and had been seeing a psychiatrist
. In the 1960s and '70s, he was a top jockey earning more than $100,000 a year and he and his wife Yvonne maintained a home in Garden City, New York, a place in Miami, Florida
for the winter racing season, and owned a farm in Maryland
. The couple had a daughter, Vanessa, and a son, Taylor. In 1992, Taylor Hole made his debut as a professional jockey at Rockingham Park
.
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:...
in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
.
Born in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, 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...
, Michael Hole moved to the United States in 1961 where he rode professionally for fourteen years, winning 2042 races while riding horses to earnings of US$13,520,479. He was a regular rider at NYRA
NYRA
NYRA is an abbreviation for the following groups:* National Youth Rights Association, a United States youth rights organization* New York Racing Association, the governing body for thoroughbred horse racing in the U.S. state of New York- Other media :...
tracks in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and at Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.Monmouth Park's marquee event...
, Garden State Park Racetrack, and the Atlantic City Race Course
Atlantic City Race Course
The Atlantic City Race Course , formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, is a thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off the Black Horse Pike next to the Hamilton Mall...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. In winter, Michael Hole relocated to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
where he competed at Tropical Park
Tropical Park Race Track
Tropical Park Race Track was a horse racing facility built on at the current intersection of Bird Road and the Palmetto Expressway in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in what is now the neighborhood of Olympia Heights. The race track was built by Bill Dwyer, a prohibition era bootlegger, and Frank...
, Hialeah Park
Hialeah Park Race Track
The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic site in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S...
and at Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....
.
In the U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
series, Michael Hole rode in three Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
s with his best result a fifth place finish in 1973. He finished tenth in the 1970 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. Among his early major wins, Michael Hole captured the 1969 Jersey Derby
Jersey Derby
The Jersey Derby is a $100,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993 it has been raced on grass at a distance of 1 1/16 miles....
aboard Al Hattab. In 1971, he took over as the regular rider of the 1970 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, Forward Gal
Forward Gal
Forward Gal was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Out of the mare, Forward Thrust, he was sired by Florida Derby winner Native Charger who also sired 1970 Belmont Stakes winner High Echelon....
, piloting her to wins in the Comely Stakes
Comely Stakes
The Comely Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Run in mid-April, since 1960 it has been open to three year old fillies who are willing to race one mile on the dirt track. The race is a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and...
, Gazelle Handicap
Gazelle Handicap
The Gazelle Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, New York. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on dirt...
, Monmouth Oaks and the Betsy Ross Handicap. In 1975, Michael Hole was the principal rider of Dearly Precious
Dearly Precious
Dearly Precious was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Bred by Mrs. Jean R. Pancoast, she was out of the mare Ironically and sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Fager. Richard E. Bailey, a cable television executive, purchased her as a yearling for $22,000 and...
, helping to guide her to that year's Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
On May 11, 1968 Michael Hole rode four winners on a single race card at Suffolk Downs
Suffolk Downs
Suffolk Downs, a thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States opened in 1935. Famous horses that have raced at this track include Seabiscuit, Whirlaway, Funny Cide and Cigar. The MassCap is held there, as well at the annual Hot Dog Safari...
then did it for the second time on January 3, 1970 at Gulfstream Park and for a third time at 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:...
on November 6, 1974. His most successful winning day came on November 8, 1969 at Garden State Park when he rode five winners of which four came in succession.
Death speculation
On April 22, 1976 Michael Hole was found dead in the front seat of his car in a parking lot at Jones BeachJones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway and Ocean Parkway .The park is renowned for...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, not far from his home in Garden City, New York
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
. The death was reported by Long Island parkway police as a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
tion when the exhaust pipe of his vehicle was found to have been deliberately blocked. Much speculation about Michael Hole's death followed when a major scandal erupted involving mobster "Fat" Tony Ciulla, a member of the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Winter Hill Gang
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
who admitted to paying jockeys to fix hundreds of races at New York tracks and five other states in 1974 and 1975. As late as October 26, 2005, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reiterated that "the theory lingers that Hole, a reluctant race-fixer, was a victim of foul play." That his life may have been in danger became a certainty when a November 6, 1978 feature story by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
reported that trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
John Cotter testified before the New York State Racing and Wagering Board
New York State Racing and Wagering Board
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board is the official governing body that oversees horse racing, charitable gaming, and Indian casino gaming in New York State...
that Michael Hole told him he had been offered $5,000 to hold back one of his horses at Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
during the 1974 meeting. In testimony given in exchange for immunity, mobster Tony Ciulla, a close associate of the notorious Whitey Bulger
James J. Bulger
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. is a former organized crime figure from Boston, Massachusetts.Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents. Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection racket targeting drug kingpins...
who is wanted by the FBI on nineteen counts of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, confirmed he had made the bribe attempt to Hole through one of his jockey intermediaries, first offering $5,000 and then upping it to $10,000, but that Hole had turned him down. Sports Illustrated said that after Hole had told trainer John Cotter of the bribe attempt, he reported it to Warren Mehrtens
Warren Mehrtens
Warren Mehrtens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey best known for winning the U.S. Triple Crown in 1946....
, a track steward and well-known former jockey, and the information was turned over to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau and the FBI.
At the time of his death, Michael Hole had been suffering from mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
problems and had been seeing a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. In the 1960s and '70s, he was a top jockey earning more than $100,000 a year and he and his wife Yvonne maintained a home in Garden City, New York, a place in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
for the winter racing season, and owned a farm in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The couple had a daughter, Vanessa, and a son, Taylor. In 1992, Taylor Hole made his debut as a professional jockey at Rockingham Park
Rockingham Park
Rockingham Park is a horse racing establishment in Salem, New Hampshire, in the United States. First built in 1906, it was used as an area for many to gamble on the weekends. Seabiscuit raced there in 1935 and 1936, and Mom's Command ran in her first race and gained her first victory there in...
.