John Singleton the Elder

John Singleton
Engraving of John Singleton, taken from A History of the English Turf, 1901
Occupation	Jockey
Born	1715 Melbourne, East Riding of Yorkshire
Died	c. 1795
Career wins	not known
Major racing wins
York Great Subscription Purse (1766) Newmarket Sweepstakes v. Herod
Significant horses
Bay Malton

John Singleton (1715 – c. 1795), born Melbourne, near Pocklington, Yorkshire was an 18th-century British jockey, who has been described as "the pioneer of professional jockeys". He is commonly referred to as John Singleton I, John Singleton, Sr. or John Singleton the Elder to distinguish him from later relatives of the same name who were also jockeys.

Singleton was born to John Singleton of Melbourne, Yorkshire and baptised on 10 May 1715, one of nine children. On the death of his father, he became a cattle herder, and started riding at the age of 10, on wild young racehorses that lived among the cattle on the common land of the moors above Melbourne. With this experience behind him, he became groom to Wilberforce Read of Grimthorpe. He is described as having "a broad chest, strong arm, quick eye, cool head and ample nerve."

After a particularly good riding performance, Read rewarded Singleton with the gift of a ewe. Singleton used this ewe for breeding, and with the sale of the offspring he was able to pay for the stallion Smiling Tom to cover his master's mare. The mating was a successful one, resulting in a filly called Lucy, which Singleton rode to victory in a number of races in 1737. These included the Subscription Plates at Hambleton, Morpeth, and Sunderland. He is said to have walked the entire 120 mile journey round the tracks of the North East, sleeping under haystacks.

By 1751, he had moved to the headquarters of British horse racing, Newmarket. In April 1756, he won a valuable 200 guinea match race against Mr Bowles' Trajan over the Beacon Course at Newmarket on the famous Matchem. In Newmarket, he became trainer and jockey to fellow Yorkshireman and future Prime Minister, the Marquis of Rockingham. He was used by Rockingham in all major races from the early 1760s until 1780, riding at Newmarket in the spring and Thixendale in Yorkshire in the summer.