McAtee, Linus (John Linus)
Horse Racing
b. 1897, Frenchtown, NJ
d. Nov. 15, 1963
While still an apprentice, McAtee rode Damrosch to victory in the 1916 Preakness. Known as a master of pace and timing, McAtee often won races by the narrowest of margins under perfectly-judged stretch drives.
Nicknamed "Pony," McAtee won two Kentucky Derbies, aboard Whiskey in 1927 and Clyde Van Dusen in 1929. He scored three victories in what was then the nation's richest race, the Belmont Futurity, with Mother Goose in 1924, High Strung in 1928, and Jamestown in 1930.
McAtee was the nation's leading money winner in 1928 with $301,295. He retired in 1932 and a brief comeback attempt in 1935 was ended by a foot injury. He had 930 career victories in 5,752 starts, a 16.2 winning percentage, and was in the money on another 1,679 mounts, for total earnings of $2,442,682.