Chris Antley
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Christopher Wiley Antley (January 6, 1966 - December 2, 2000) was a Champion American jockey.
He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida but grew up in Elloree, South Carolina. He left school at sixteen to ride horses professionally at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. His first win was on a horse named Vaya Con Dinero. Soon, he left Maryland to race in New York and New Jersey and at the age of 18 was the United States Champion Jockey by wins with 469.
In the late 1980s Antley spent time in a substance abuse clinic, but still had record breaking seasons in 1987 (9 different horses to wins on Halloween) and in 1989 when he won at least one race a day for 64-days straight.
In 1990 Antley moved to California and in 1991 he rode Strike the Gold to victory in the Kentucky Derby. He was successful until 1997 when he temporarily retired to deal with weight and drug problems. In 1999 Antley returned to ride the D. Wayne Lukas trained Charismatic, winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes that year.
Antley will long be remembered for his immediate care he provided to Charismatic in the 1999 Belmont Stakes, after the horse, finishing third in the race, had injured his leg in the grueling stretch run. Antley jumped off the horse after the finish line and attempted to hold the horse's leg in place while the horse limped in obvious pain. His quick thinking is thought to have helped Charismatic prevent further injuring himself, as the horse recovered following surgery.
A stock market player, Chris Antley wrote an investor newsletter he called "The Antman Report." During the week leading up to the 1999 Belmont Stakes, he was invited to ring the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
In December 2000, Antley was found dead on the floor of his Pasadena, California home. The cause of death was severe blunt force trauma and was investigated by police as a homicide. Later, blood toxicology reports showed his body had four different drugs and the homicide investigation was dropped.
Chris Antley is interred in the Bookhart Cemetery in Elloree, South Carolina, the town he considered his home. Shortly after his death, his wife, Natalie Jowett, a former ABC Sports employee, gave birth to their daughter, Violet Grace Antley.
