NEWS
Former Washington-based jockey Austin dies
Posted: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 12:08 PM
Steve Austin, a fixture in the jockey colony at Longacres from 1967 to ‘79, died from a heart attack on December 8. He was 57.
Austin compiled his finest season at the now-shuttered Renton, Washington, track in 1975 when he finished third in the standings with 69 wins, including three stakes victories on Grandy Dandy.
Austin recorded his final stakes triumph in 1978 aboard Battery Limits in the Washington Championship Handicap.
According to statistics from Emerald Downs’s publicity department, Austin concluded his career with 612 wins from 4,908 mounts. After retiring, he worked at Longacres as a film analyst and in the track’s marketing department.
Survivors include Austin’s wife, Sandy, and daughter, Ashley.
