Retired jockey Harmatz dies at age 79

Bill Harmatz had a zest for life, according to his friends and family (Benoit Photos) Retired jockey Bill Harmatz, who won the prestigious Santa Anita George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1960, died Thursday of cancer at his home in Vista, California. He was 79 and would have turned 80 on February 9. Harmatz won the 1959 Preakness S. on Royal Orbit, one of his 1,770 wins, in a career that spanned 17 years. He rode in the Kentucky Derby four times. “What a wonderful day,” Harmatz told the North County Times in May, about his Preakness win. “It was the highlight of my career.” Royal Orbit was trained by Reggie Cornell, who also conditioned the legendary come-from-behinder, Silky Sullivan, who was also ridden on occasion by Harmatz. Royal Orbit was owned by movie mogul Louis B. Mayer. Harmatz was a close personal friend of Bill Shoemaker’s and, as a result, filled-in for The Shoe occasionally aboard Hall of Famer Round Table, particularly when Round Table captured the 1957 Hawthorne Gold Cup and 1958 Santa Anita Maturity (now the Strub S.). Harmatz was also responsible for one of the greatest upsets in Santa Anita history when he rode 12-1 shot Most Host to a head victory over 1-5 favorite and reigning Horse of the Year Damascus and Ron Turcotte in the 1968 Strub S. In Vista, Harmatz was better known as the proprietor of the popular Vista Entertainment Center and was known as a generous man who supported many community groups and programs. He had a contagious smile and a zest for life, friends and family said.

Harmatz, born February 9, 1931, grew up in Boyle Heights. He was a successful
gymnast, earning two high school state titles as a student at Roosevelt High
School, before riding in his first horse race in 1953. About a year earlier,
Harmatz married the love of his life, Connie, and the couple have been together
for 59 years, until his death this week.

Harmatz purchased the Vista Entertainment Center, north of Del Mar, in 1959.
In a 2009 interview with the North County Times, he said that when a
friend approached him with the idea to open a bowling alley in Vista, his reply
was, “Where is Vista?” However, he moved to the city shortly after the
entertainment center opened and became one of its biggest boosters. He also
owned the Melrose Law Center.

“He was a great guy, very giving and always looking to do things for the
community,” former Mayor Bernie Rappaport said. “He was a guy you could always
count on if you needed something.”

Added Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally, “Harmatz was a good rider. He rode
horses for us and I always respected him. I’d see him every summer down at Del
Mar because he had the bowling alley there. He was a first-class guy.”

Harmatz is survived by his wife, four children, eight grandchildren and three
great-grand children. A public memorial will be held 11 a.m. (CST) on February
5, at the Vista Entertainment Center, 435 W. Vista Way. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to the Vista Rotary Foundation Polio Plus, P.O. Box 24,
Vista, CA 92085.