Hot Springs in Garland County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
Earlie Fires
Thoroughbred Racing
| | Hot Springs Arkansas Walk of Fame | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 13, 2024
1. Earlie Fires Marker
Elected to National Museum of Racing Jockey Hall of Fame 2001 Received George Woolf Memorial Award in 1998 Named Nations Leading Apprentice Jockey in 1965 Rode winners in the Florida Derby and the Jersey Derby
Rivervale, Arkansas Inducted 2002
Erected by Hot Springs Arkansas Walk of Fame.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Sports.
Location. 34° 30.628′ N, 93° 3.218′ W. Marker is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in Garland County. It is at the intersection of Spring Street and Central Avenue (State Highway 7), on the right when traveling west on Spring Street. The marker is embedded in the sidewalk near the southeast corner of the Hot Springs City Visitor Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 629 Central Avenue, Hot Springs National Park AR 71901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Arkansas’ Ouachita Mountains. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: LTC Hugh Mills, Jr. (here, next to this marker); Jack Hunt / Joe Hunt (here, next to this marker); Dr. Maya Angelou (here, next to this marker); Bobby Murray (here, next to this marker); Nick McDonald (here, next to this marker); Patsy Montana (here, next
this page online
Also see . . . Earlie Fires (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Earlie Stancel Fires (born March 19, 1947, in Rivervale, Arkansas) is a retired National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame jockey.(Submitted on January 23, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Fires began riding professionally in 1964 and led all American apprentices in wins that year with 224. He retired on September 21, 2008, having won 6,470 races at racetracks across North America. In 1983, and again 1987, Fires set a record for Arlington Park by winning seven races in a single day of racing. He is Arlington Park's all-time leading rider with 2,886 wins and holds the record for most wins in that track's Lincoln Heritage Handicap with seven. He also has the distinction of riding in the Kentucky Derby after a 24-year hiatus, the longest gap for a jockey. He rode in the 100th Kentucky Derby in 1974 and returned to Churchill Downs in 1998, at the age of 51, to ride in the 124th Kentucky Derby.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 13, 2024
2. Earlie Fires Marker
Looking north from Spring Street; it is the rightmost of four markers in this photo. The Hot Springs City Visitor Center is in the left background.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 23, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 142 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 23, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
