DUNDALK KID'S

Flashback: Spectacular Bid's late jockey Franklin lived fast, loved horses

By Peter Lee, horseracingnation.com  March 9, 2018

Photo: Keeneland Library

Ron Franklin died Thursday, and the world hardly seemed to notice. The former jockey of Spectacular Bid, one of the greatest horses who ever lived, was 58 years old, the victim of lung cancer. When he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes aboard Bid, Franklin was all of 19 years old, wide eyed, inexperienced and naive. At that time, he was at the top of the horse racing world, so much that at his home turf at Pimlico Race Track, the fans screamed, "Ron-nie! Ron-nie!" His rise and fall among the horse racing elite were meteoric. 

He was born and raised in Dundalk, Maryland. Standing 5-foot-1 FINISH READING HERE

More News from Timonium

• Limited Edition Tin Released
• In Towson The Prom Is Saved