On September 27 2008, Hall Of Fame jockey Earlier Fires retired with a ceremony in the Winner's circle at Arlington Park.   Earlie has been a Chicago Horse Racing icon for over 40 years.

I remember as a 12 year old boy scanning the race results in the Tribune each day to see how many races he won the prior day.

Picture to the right is the LAST picture taken of Earlie as he headed into the Jocks room to remove his racing silks for the last time.  Picture all the way on the bottom is of Me & Earlie as he headed off into retirement. 

click here for photos

Below is video of Earlie speaking in the Winners Circle as he announced his retirement.   Truly an end of an era.

Goodspeed Earlie