The Bitter Life of a Shattered Jockey

One of the award recipients was a jockey named Mary Bacon, who was named the most courageous athlete of the year for repeatedly overcoming brutal injuries suffered on the track. Not even four years into a career that would run its course by the time Jimmy Carter moved into the White House, hospital stays had become commonplace for Mary Bacon. My attempt to nail down an accurate portrayal of Bacon’s life began with cross-checking numerous features and news articles against one another, and eventually led me to speaking with a number of people who crossed paths with her during her peak horse racing years, including a fellow jockey, a longtime paramour, a couple of white supremacists, a source close to her family, and her ex-husband’s third wife.

Source: deadspin.com