Editing Ron Turcotte (section)

==Career==
Turcotte began his career in [[Toronto]] as a [[hot walker]] for [[E. P. Taylor]]'s [[Windfields Farm]] in 1960, but he was soon wearing the silks and winning races. As an apprentice jockey he rode Windfields's [[Northern Dancer]] to his first victory. He gained prominence with his victory aboard [[Tom Rolfe]] in the 1965 [[Preakness Stakes]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Dapper Dan Next|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/05/16/archives/dapper-dan-next-hail-to-all-finishes-3d-lucky-debonair-7th-in-9colt.html|work=New York Times|date=16 May 1965 |accessdate=September 16, 2022 |language=en-US |last1=Nichols |first1=Joe }}</ref>

Turcotte soon started working with [[Canadians|Canadian]] trainer [[Lucien Laurin]] at the racetrack in [[Laurel, Maryland]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

In 1972 he rode [[Riva Ridge]] to victory in the [[Kentucky Derby]] and the [[Belmont Stakes]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HoVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aQUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7152,4467362 ''Ocala Star-Banner'' article on Ron Turcotte – June 23, 1972]</ref>

Turcotte became internationally famous in 1973 when he rode [[Secretariat (horse)|Secretariat]] to win the first Triple Crown in 25 years, with records in each race and Secretariat's phenomenal finish 31 lengths ahead of the field in the Belmont. A photograph of Secretariat winning the Belmont, with Turcotte looking over his shoulder at the pack far behind, became famous.  Turcotte was [[North America]]'s leading stakes-winning jockey in 1972 and 1973. He was the first jockey to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies since [[Jimmy Winkfield]] in 1902 and the first jockey ever to have won five of six consecutive Triple Crown races (matched in 2015 by [[Victor Espinoza]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pedulla |first1=Tom |title=Ron Turcotte: Secretariat's Hall of Fame Rider |url=https://www.americasbestracing.net/the-sport/2024-ron-turcotte-secretariats-hall-fame-rider |website=americasbestracing.net |publisher=TJC Media Ventures |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref>

He was voted the prestigious [[George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award]], which honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. He is the first person from [[Thoroughbred racing]] ever to be appointed a member of the [[Order of Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Klinkenberg |first1=Marty |title=Ron Turcotte, one of Canada's greatest sportsmen, will forever be linked to Secretariat |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-ron-turcotte-jockey-secretariat-triple-crown/ |website=theglobeandmail.com |date=9 June 2023 |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc. |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref>

Turcotte's career ended on July 13, 1978, when he fell from his horse, Flag of Leyte Gulf, during the 8th race at [[Belmont Park]]. He suffered injuries that rendered him a [[paraplegic]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/09/10/turcottes-days-ride-on-hope/02b82518-05c1-494c-a5cd-320ad3a35daf/ |title=Turcotte's Days Ride on Hope |first=Eddie |last=Donnally |date=September 10, 1988 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |access-date=June 1, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/07/13/issue.html |title=Turcotte Has Neurosurgery; Jockey Is 'Alert' and 'Stable' |date=July 15, 1978 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

He was inducted into the [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame]] in 1979. He was voted into the [[New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame]] and in 1980 was inducted into [[Canada's Sports Hall of Fame]]. In 1984 he became the first recipient of the [[Avelino Gomez Memorial Award]], given annually to the jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country who has made significant contributions to the sport.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jockeyscanada.com/avelino-gomez-memorial-award/ |title=Avelino Gomez Memorial Award |website=jockeyscanada.com |access-date=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

In 2015, a statue of Secretariat and Turcotte crossing the finish line at the Belmont Stakes was unveiled in Turcotte's hometown of [[Grand Falls, New Brunswick]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/ron-turcotte-honoured-with-statue-in-grand-falls-1.3159653 |title=Ron Turcotte honoured with statue in Grand Falls |date=July 20, 2015 |work=[[CBC News]] |access-date=June 16, 2016}}</ref>