Racehorse: The Jockeys - Eddie Arcaro

An illustrator, photographer, cinematographer, and television director, Robert Riger was one of the most acclaimed visual interpreters of sports in his day. Hugh Edwards championed his work, mounting two shows of his photographs (on football, in 1962, and the racetrack, in 1964) and hosting a massive exhibition, Man in Sport, organized by Riger. This photograph is from the racetrack series, which showcased horses, trainers, jockeys, and owners; the museum acquired 20 of these the year that they were shown. Edwards praised Riger’s “abstracts of rounded and rhythmical gesture,” demonstrated here as the horse’s legs blur in motion while the jockey remains forever concentrated and stilled.