Hirsch Jacobs (April 8, 1904 – February 13, 1970) was an American thoroughbredhorse trainer and owner.
Early life
Jacobs grew up in East New York, Brooklyn in New York City. As a child he raised pigeons on the roof of his tenement building where he lived and raced them. He completed his formal schooling in elementary school at the age of 13;[1] everything he knew about animal behavior and veterinary medicine was self-taught. An older friend, Charlie Ferraro, the brother of his boss, introduced Jacobs to horse racing when he took him to Jamaica Racetrack in Queens.[2] Ferraro bought a horse for $1500 and asked Jacobs to train it.[1]
Career
As a youth Jacobs worked as a steamfitter's assistant, but he quit to become a "jack-of-all-trades" at the race track. On December 29, 1926 Jacobs had his first official winner, Reveillon, at Pompano, Florida. In 1927 he became a trainer with Isidor Bieber (known by nicknames "Izzy" and "Kid Beebee), who became his lifelong partner. A well-known gambler, Bieber was the inspiration for Damon Runyon's "Guys and Dolls."[2] Bieber put up the money and Jacobs trained the horses.
Stymie was Jacobs biggest success. The horse was from the large King Ranch in Texas and was well-bred, but he was not winning until Jacobs bought him. In 1943 Jacobs purchased Stymie for $1,500 in a claiming race.[1] By the end of Stymie's 7-year-long racing career which covered over 140 miles of racing, he had a lifetime earnings of $918,485, which was more than any other horse had earned until that time.[2] Those earnings helped Jacobs and Bieber establish a breeding farm in Maryland, Stymie Manor.[1]
Hirsch Jacobs had a daughter, Patrice, and two sons, John and Tom. He had five brothers, Harry, Irving, Albert, Sidney, and Eugene, and four sisters, Mrs. Irene Robbins, Miss Helen Jacobs, Mrs. Florence Jacobson and Mrs. Lillian Gold. His brothers Sidney and Eugene both became trainers.[3]
