Birth date: March 8, 1939
Birth place: Mermende, France
Jean Cruguet's riding career began in France in 1956 only to be interrupted by a three-year stint in the French Army. He began riding in the United States in 1965 and prior to obtaining the mount on Seattle Slew, he rode champions San San, Arts and Letters and the brilliant, but ill-fated Hoist the Flag.
His riding career spanned 40 ears in which he won nearly 3,000 races and many major stakes including the Man O'War Stakes, Travers, Champagne Stakes, Wood Memorial, Flamingo and the Hopeful, Knickerbocker and Sheepshead Bay Handicap.
In 1977, he piloted the undefeated Seattle Slew through a Triple Crown sweep punctuated by Cruguet triumphantly raising his right arm just before crossing the finish line in the Belmont Stakes. This dramatic gesture remains forever engraved in the memories of racing fans.
Birth date: March 8, 1939
year stint in the French Army. He began riding in the United States in 1965 and prior to obtaining the mount on Seattle Slew, he rode champions San San, Arts and Letters and the brilliant, but ill-fated Hoist the Flag.
Travers, Champagne Stakes, Wood Memorial, Flamingo and the Hopeful, Knickerbocker and Sheepshead Bay Handicap.