The General (RIP David Gall)
 

https://www.drf.com/news/fairmount-l...l-time-dies-79

Absolutely as good as anyone. Preferred to be a big fish in a small pond. Humble...if he won it was because he had the best horse. If he finished 6th, it was because he had the 6th best horse.

One of the few who would hustle a stalker/closer vs. lone speed, then back off after the speed was urged early and nail the leader in the deep stretch.

Thanks for many memories, Dave. RIP.

Shocked that I don't recall hearing about him. I lived on the west coast till 10 years ago. I suppose a lot of east coasters hadn't heard of Russel Baze until he started threatening the all time wins mark for jockeys.

THE best rider I ever laid eyes on. Superhuman from off the pace. And the unrivaled master of exploiting path bias. Gall would walk the track well before post and then fearlessly employ what he had detected, many times angling sharply to a pre-determined lane (to the exclusion of ALL other strategy) in the very first race. He was NEVER WRONG.

I always wondered why he didn't try the Chicago tracks. He said once that he liked the quieter lifestyle and also night racing. He could get maximum effort with minimum use of the whip.

Dave did come up and ride in the late Fall(after Fairmount closed for the season) at Hawthorne for several years. Most of his mounts were for Fairmount outfits that also made the trek north. He won some races in Stickney... again, mostly on Fairmount stock. Chicago-based Mike Reavis did use him but not too many locals did.

I remember him using that tactic that you described a few times, now that you mention it and always thought that was pretty slick.I think he was physically a very strong man too for his size.

He and Ouzts and Dale Baird ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Other sports honor career stats and longevity. Racing should do the right thing.

Speaking of great riders on Laramie anybody remember Lonnie Ray. He was fantastic at SPT. Drank too much, got caught with a buzzer and was ruled off.

I watched Gall ride thousands of races, the man was unbelievable with his hands. I always loved when he would let horses pass him at the top of the stretch and then come back and win by a neck.

Every time Pat Day would come to Fairmount Gall would outride him. Yes, Day was always on the huge favorite but Gall would either beat him on occasion or make it much closer than it should have been. I always said Day was the most overrated jockey of all time OR Gall was one of the best to ever get up on a horse.

Has Fan Duel made any improvements to Fairmount?

Did he not have any issues making weight? I could not imagine a jockey wanting to consume a lot of empty calories unless they naturally weighed 90# and change.