May 4, 1957

A gallant man's mistake costs Gallant Man the Kentucky Derby.

Legendary jockey Willie Shoemaker, aboard English-bred Gallant Man, mistakes the 16th pole for the finish line and momentarily stands up in his saddle. As he does, Willie Hartack continues to drive 8-1 shot Iron Liege. Shoemaker quickly resumes driving his mount, but Gallant Man is unable to catch Iron Liege, losing by the thinnest of noses in one of the most controversial derbies ever.

"(Shoemaker's mistake) undoubtedly cost him the race," says Lincoln Plaut, presiding steward.

Ironically, Ralph Lowe, the owner of Gallant Man, told Churchill Downs track's superintendents before the race that he had dreamed last night that his jockey "stood up in the stirrups" on the colt. Unfortunately for Lowe, his dream becomes a real-life nightmare for Shoemaker.

Iron Liege is not even considered Calumet Farm's best three-year-old. That honor goes to General Duke, who is scratched because of an injury a few minutes before the pre-Derby betting begins today. With Hartack winning his first Derby, the "second-string" Iron Liege pays $18.80 to win.