a u.s. racing mystery.

​From a source unconnected to horse racing, I discovered the fate of a Canadian jockey who died in mysterious circumstances in 1948.
If you research the history of U.S. Triple Crown winners, you will doubtless only find a passing reference to Al Snider, a Canadian who was finding fame in the U.S. prior to his disappearance. Eddie Arcaro went on to ride Citation, the winner in 1948 of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. It was, I suppose, appropriate that Arcaro should inherit the ride on the great horse as he was among Snider’s best friends.
Albert Snider had won 9-races on Citation and it would have been10 if the fates had allowed him to be aboard the horse for the first of the Triple Crown races. Citation was owned by Calumet Farms, owned by Admiral Gene Markey, who was also aboard the Evelyn K, owned by John Campbell, New York racing secretary, and the day before Snider’s disappearance, he had offered Snider the position of contract rider for Calumet. We do not know if Snider accepted the offer, though as Calumet had the top stable in the U.S. at the time, winning major race after major race, it would seem unlikely Snider would have turned the offer down.
The Evelyn K was anchored off the Florida Keys and Snider, a keen fisherman, and two others, Tobe Trotter and Canadian businessman Don Frazier, decided to while away the time before supper by taking the skiff, strangely designed by Eddie Arcaro, to undertake some fishing. They said they would be back within an hour. They were fishing in shallow water, close to the shore and until the storm took shape they could be seen from the 65-ft yacht. After the storm, the three men were never seen again. The storm was intense enough to topple a 70-foot elevator tower on Miami Beach and it was said the storm was unusual as it took shape very quickly, becoming dark equally speedily, with lightning throughout.
Coincidentally, sheltering from the very same storm was the yacht Tonga, with actor Gregory Peck aboard. 20-years later Peck owned Different Class, 3rd in the 1968 Grand National. He also owned Owen Sedge, 7th in the 1963 Grand National.
During the air, sea and land search for the 3-men, a pilot noticed footprints on a small island in the Florida Keys. When searched with sniffer dogs, a scent was picked-up but petered-out halfway across the island.
The skiff washed-up 10-days later, on rocks in the Keys, completely empty. The men all wore life-preservers, yet none were found. One oar, though, was found floating in the sea.
The mystery was compounded when Tony Trotter, son of Tobe Trotter, received phone calls from Cuba. What transpired during these calls is not recorded, though the suggestion is that they were either silent or menacing.
Because of these phone-calls, Snider’s daughter, 7 at the time, was taken out of school for her safety. Later in life, when talking about the mystery of her father’s disappearance, she said she thought a likely explanation, if foul play was involved, was that her father had been approached to stop a horse and he had refused. Gangs of horse-stoppers were prevalent at the time.
As by all accounts, the storm was intense and began quite soon after the 3-men left the Evelyn K and they were seen actively fishing in the short interlude before the storm played its hand, how likely is it than any criminal activity could have taken place? If foul play was involved, my only thought is that someone on board the Evelyn K must have scuppered the skiff prior to the 3-men setting off for their fishing expedition, allowing it to sink once the storm took effect.
Adding to the theory of foul play, though it might have been a hoax, of course, was a note washed-up in a bottle on the shoreline 4-months after the disappearance. It read: ‘Help. One dead. Al.S.’