Frank Hayes was a horse trainer and jockey
during the early 1900s. In 1923, at the age of 35, Hayes had an
opportunity to compete in a steeplechase in Belmont Park, New
York. He had never won a race before that. The horse that he was
going to race was named Sweet Kiss, a 20-1 underdog.
In spite of the long
odds of winning, and despite the fact that Hayes had little
experience as a jockey since he was a horse trainer by
profession, Hayes and Sweet Kiss ended up victorious.
The owner of the horse,
elated with the win, approached Hayes afterward only to find out
that Hayes was dead. It appeared at some point during the middle
of the race, Hayes suffered a heart attack and died. Sweet Kiss
somehow managed to hop the final fence and cross the finish line
ahead of everyone while carrying literal dead weight.
The track physician
speculated that his death may have been caused by a pre-existing
heart disease. Hayes is in the Guinness Book of Records as the
first, and so far the only, deceased jockey to win a race.