Fred Archer was champion jockey 13 times from 1874-86. He was the leading jockey of the 19th century and one of the all-time greats. His fame transcended the racing world, the catchphrase “Archer’s Up!” signified all was well. His record 246 wins in 1885 was not surpassed until Gordon Richards in 1933. His career total of 2,748 came at a strike rate of about 34%. He was an interesting character and is the subject of three biographies.
He committed suicide at the age of 29 when the balance of his mind was temporarily disturbed. Devastated by the death of his wife during childbirth the year before, Wasting hard was becoming increasingly difficult – he could balloon up to eleven stone in the close season – and through riding in the rain, wind and cold of November he succumbed to fever, possibly typhoid. In bed, delirious, he shot himself with a revolver he used to keep in case of burglars.
Fred’s childhood was spent near Cheltenham. His father William was a National Hunt jockey who rode the winner of the 1842 Grand National, Little Charlie. He already had riding experience before being sent to Matthew Dawson in Newmarket.
The first Fred Archer Stakes was on 28 May 1903 in the foothills of the Himalayas at Darjeeling, organised by British Army officers. It was for ponies “that have been regularly hired out in the Station, to be ridden by Non-Commissioned Officers or men of the Garrison.” The ponies lacked the discipline expected of their riders, for it was a chaotic affair with at least 20 runners. Half of them ran out while the others skilfully ejected their riders. The stewards had a difficult job determining the result.
BANGOR-ON-DEE
Reputedly Archer’s first win was when riding Maid Of Trent in a steeplechase for ponies at Bangor for an old family friend, Mr or Mrs G Willan, Willens, Willins or Williams, depending on which source you read. Authors John Welcome, E M Humphris and Amanda Murray imply the race was in late 1869. Archer was twelve years old, and tipped the scales at 4st 11lbs. However, there is no sign in the British Newspaper Archive of Maid Of Trent winning a steeplechase in that period.
Another possibility was a two mile chase at Bangor on 1 April 1870. The £10 prize was so humble that the result of the race didn’t qualify to be recorded in the Racing Calendar. This is the solitary occasion I can find a newspaper report of Maid Of Trent winning at Bangor. The only one that gave the jockey’s name said it was “Youngman”, but this sounds like an invention of a reporter who noticed the jockey was a boy but couldn’t find out his name; it was the last race of the day and he would have wanted to be on his way.
NEWMARKET
Fred Archer remained strangely unhonoured at Newmarket, other than a meeting on 4 August 1962 which commemorated him and other jockeys of the past. From 1971 until 1983 there was an apprentice race at their mid-October meeting. Not until 27 June 1987 was a regular Fred Archer Stakes brought into the programme with a decent standard of race, run over a mile and a half of the July course. From then until 2024 it lived up to its Listed status by giving horses rated in the low 100s an opportunity to collect a decent prize without having to give lumps of weight away in a handicap.
In 2025 the Fred Archer Stakes was moved from Newmarket to Beverley and renamed the Charlie Wood (qv) Stakes. It’s a strange decision, because although Wood (a contemporary of Archer who came from the East Riding) was champion jockey in 1887) he was accused of all sorts of chicanery and warned off for nine years.
Sources include biographies by John Welcome and Amanda Murray (with references to an earlier one by E M Humphris).
Our Honest Charlie Wood by Josephine Carr (2019) gives an alternative view of Wood