Bad Boy

Jockey Don Meade rode his first winner in 1930, has spent almost half the time since then serving out "lifetime" suspensions. The Florida State Racing Commission ruled him off the track in 1936 for betting against his own mounts. Three years later, when he pleaded hardship and reformation, Florida relented and lifted the ban (which had barred him from other tracks as well).

"I have only one ambition," said cocky Don Meade, "to be the top-ranking jockey in America." He slashed his way to victory on Broker's Tip in the 1933 Kentucky Derby, had more winners than any other U.S. jockey in 1939 and 1941, earned a reputation for smart, hard riding if not for sportsmanship or trustworthiness. By 1945, he had been handed two more lifetime suspensions: one at Jamaica, N.Y. for "reprehensible conduct" (ordering a stablemate jockey to foul another competitor) and one for publicly insulting a Mexico City racing steward.

Having failed to obtain a license from the Jockey Club of New York, Don Meade last week appealed to the Florida commission for reinstatement. The commission voted 3-1 (over the strong dissent of its chairman) to give him a one-year probationary license. Now 37, but still capable of making a riding weight of 110 Ibs., Meade thought he had "several good years ahead--now that I've been given another chance."

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