Charley Cloyd Smith

Charley Cloyd Smith, affectionately known as Choo Choo Charley, 85, was born on August 10, 1930, in Daisy, Oklahoma, passed away December 7, 2015 in his sleep. Hopefully, he is up there racing and having some good chats with family and friends. He resided in Anaheim, California, at the time of his passing. He is survived by his wife Doris Smith, Children: Charla Dreyer, Sherry Smith (Quigley) and Michael Smith Grandchildren: James Burke, Clifton Smith, Robert Smith, Alyssa Quigley and Alexis Quigley, his sister Clara Jean Jeffrey and many more family and friends that loved him dearly.

He was born and raised in Daisy, Oklahoma and lived in many different areas of Oklahoma until he made his move to California to start his dream of becoming a jockey. In 1959, he came to California to race at Los Alamitos and Bay Meadows Park in San Mateo. Doris begged him not to go, she wanted to stay home in Oklahoma, but Charley heard a winning jockey could earn a lot of money, and that's all he needed to hear. By 1962, he was earning $100,000 a season. In 13 meets, from the fall of 1961 to the fall of 1967, he won 11 riding championships at Los Alamitos. A leader in the jockey's room among his peers and a leading rider at Los Alamitos 11 times, Smith won 841 races in his career at the Orange County oval. The figure ranks him 20th in the all-time list at Los Alamitos. He also won 51 stakes races in his career.

"I knew how to judge a horse," Smith said. "I could tell if a horse could run by the feel of him. And I never believed anyone could run a horse faster than I could. It was my business, I knew every horse on the track when I was riding. I made sure that if my horse lost, it wouldn't be because of me."

It was 1974 that Smith decided to quit riding. He had always been a bit tall for a jockey--5-feet-8--and was naturally around 145 pounds. Dropping the necessary 30 pounds or so started to become harder and harder. He spent hours in the "hot box" a torture/sweat device designed to melt portions of a person's body.

Charley loved to share stories of growing up in Oklahoma and horse racing. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends and always had time to talk to a friend or neighbor.

He will be deeply missed and we will never forget him.

A celebration of Charley's life will be held on December 15, 2015, 11:30 am, at Forest Lawn in Cypress California. His final resting place will be, of course, his beloved Daisy, Oklahoma.

Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Cypress, California.