Riverside City History
Confessions of a Jockey

Vern Davis of Riverside doesn't have to read about Tom Pendergast or thoroughbred racing in Kansas City. He lived it. Davis was raised in Brookfield, Mo. and spent most of his time riding horses. By the age of 13, he was competing in the "bushes" - local events at county fairs and other venues. With his light weight of only 105 pounds, he was perfect for a Jockey. "I was horse crazy. I was small and that's how I got started." Not surprisingly, Davis quickly gravitated to what became Missouri's finest track, Riverside Park. "I came to Riverside the year it opened," he recalled. "I was just a kid and it was the big time, even though it was not a recognized track. They didn't have betting. They had donations. If you won, you went to the window and got a 'refund.'" The track held up to eight races each day so a rider could stay very busy.

The Interurban provided easy access for anyone from Kansas City. The station was literally across the street from the entrance to the track. "It was really 'the place' to be," Davis recalled. "There was a restaurant right there in the club house. Sandwiches and everything was available in the grandstand. People would come out and make a day of it." The quality of the track was evident by the thoroughbreds shipped in to compete. A railroad spur led into the facility and stables ringed the track proper. Davis had been riding under contract to another stable when Riverside opened. The owner brought him to the new facility and sold his contract to a large stable at Riverside. He rode at Riverside for all of its brief life. "My last year or so I worked with Tom Pendergast," Davis recalled. "He was the best man in the world. He liked all of the stable hands and all of the riders. He was a really good man to us. He treated me awfully good."

Davis managed to keep his 103-104 pounds until he was 40 years old. He also managed to sustain a close-knit family life for what was often a vagabond lifestyle. "I had my wife and two kids in a trailer traveling all over the U.S.," he recalled. "We'd go from Chicago to New Orleans to Florida. My first winter of racing was even in Cuba." Davis and his wife, Berneice, eventually had four sons and today have 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. He admits that his growing family was a reason to retire, along with his growing waistline. "Berneice liked the tracks but it was rough," he agreed. "That was one thing that helped me get off the track. I was a family man. I wanted to stay together."

Davis still had time for a couple more careers. He broke horses for several years for Herbert Wolfe, of Wolfe Brothers clothing fame, and eventually held a 30-year career with Kansas City Power and Light. He also served as a Riverside Marshal and remained active in the Riverside community affairs for years. Now 93 he says, "I've lived a long time," he recalls. "But I can still remember that track. You should have seen it with all those people. It was something alright."

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