Sande, Earl
Horse Racing
b. Nov. 13, 1898, Groton, SD
d. Aug. 20, 1968
Immortalized in a Damon Runyan verse as "that handy/Guy named Sande/Bootin' a winner in," Sande was the outstanding jockey of the 1920s. He won 27 percent of the races he entered and was in the money more than 60 percent of the time.
The top money winner among jockeys in 1921, 1923, and 1927, Sande won 39 stakes races in 1923, a record for thirty years. Among his victories that year was the Kentucky Derby, aboard 19-1 shot Zev.
Sande spent months in the hospital with a crushed left leg after a fall at Saratoga in 1924. It was thought he might not ride again, but he won his second Kentucky Derby with Flying Ebony the following year.
His riding career again seemed to be over when he retired in 1928 because of weight problems, but he came back in 1930 after losing most of his money in the stock market crash and he won the triple crown with Gallant Fox. Sande retired again in 1931 and operated his own stable for a while, then became a trainer for other owners with moderate success.
He made a final comeback attempt in 1947, riding just one winner before retiring for good. Virtually penniless because of a series of bad investments, Sande was presented with $500 by friends to help ease his retirement.
Sande rode 968 winners in 3,673 mounts, a 26.4 winning percentage.