Charles Wood
(1856-1945), JockeySitter in 3 portraits
One of the outstanding jockeys of the century; lost his Jockey Club licence after the exposure in 1887 of the fixing of races in which he had ridden.
by Liborio Prosperi ('Lib')
watercolour, published in Vanity Fair 22 May 1886
NPG 4755
probably by Eugenio Martinucci, for Lombardi & Co, published by W.A. Wright
hand-coloured albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1874
NPG Ax199181
Charles Wood ('Men of the Day. No. 359.')
by Liborio Prosperi ('Lib')
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 22 May 1886
NPG D44280
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Josephine Carr
09 May 2021, 11:59
Charles Wood was not guilty of fixing races. He was targeted by the Jockey Club with claims along those lines that they could not prove in court, but they still wrongfully punished him with nine years of exile despite an international outcry against such harsh punishment. The only rule he broke was against owning horses as a jockey. He came back from exile to win the Triple Crown and then trained racehorses for many years.