There is an old adage that says records are made to be broken. But if you ever meet anyone that followed Bill Shoemaker at Del Mar in the summer of 1954, they would likely argue that what he achieved that season is untouchable.

Going into 1954, Shoemaker was only in his early twenties. Despite his youth, he was already the undisputed benchmark among jockeys in Southern California. The winner of the last four Santa Anita riding titles (which would ultimately be part of a seventeen year run as the Arcadia track's leading reinsman), and five of the last six Hollywood Park championships, virtually no one could top the Shoe in those days.

That also applied to when the circuit made its stop at Del Mar every summer. From 1949 to 1953, the name of Shoemaker could be found on top of the standings when the annual meet wrapped. With the exception of 1950, when he shared the title with John Longden (who happened to be the only rider who beat Shoemaker at Hollywood Park in 1952), the native Texan could not be beat during those other years. That streak was extended in 1954, which gave Shoe his sixth straight title at the seaside. And it was that year where the future Hall of Famer would be his most dominant during that period of Del Mar's history.

Del Mar got underway on July 27. Shoemaker wasted no time getting into the win column, scoring a triple to get the meet off to a good start. It was likely no surprising to the Del Mar patrons to see Shoemaker have such a terrfic opening day, but what they would later find out is that it was a preview of what to expect by the beach that summer.

For the next couple of weeks, every Del Mar program featured at least one win by Shoemaker. In fact, it would not be until August 21 where Shoemaker would not show up in the winners' circle. And that was because he was out of town riding High Gun in the American Derby at Chicago's Washington Park racetrack. From July 27 to August 20, Shoemaker won at least two races on a Del Mar card (that equates to 17 racing days). That happened to include his birthday, August 19 (when he turned 23 years old). He simply had no equal on track that summer, and it was evident early on:

Following the July 31 program, Shoemaker held a 12-6 advantage over Roy Lumm and Ralph Neves. By nightfall on August 7, Shoemaker was way in front of Roy Lumm by a score of 27-11. He had 42 wins on August 16, 22 more than George Taniguchi.

There was absolutely no suspense as to who would be top rider at Del Mar in 1954. The real question was by how much Shoemaker would win by when the meet was finished.

The answer was an astounding 57 over Lumm. After coming full circle at the meet with another three wins on closing day, September 11, Shoemaker shattered his previous record for most wins in a season at Del Mar. Only one year removed from setting the mark with 74 wins, Shoemaker walked out of Del Mar with a spectacular 94 victories to claim his sixth straight riding title by the shore.

It is a record that still stands as of the summer of 2024.

Shoemaker put on a clinic in front of the Del Mar crowds during those weeks. And with the exception of Laffit Pincay, who captured 86 wins at Del Mar in 1976 (along with serving a suspension lasting several days), no one has come close to approaching Shoemaker's record, much less overtaking it.

Additional statistics related to this feat are even more astounding:

3-win days: 13 (including on his birthday, August 19).

4-win days: 5

5-win days: 1

6-win days: 1

Shoemaker rode in 36 of the 41 Del Mar cards that summer. He won at least one race in 35 of them. He missed only four days due to vacation, and one with his riding engagement in Chicago. He simply had no equal.

As it turned out, Shoemaker was largely responsible for another record that still stands in the present day. Trainer R.H. McDaniel would go on to be leading trainer at Del Mar for 1954, saddling 47 winners. Of those 47, Shoemaker was aboard 42 of them. And McDaniel ended up being 33 clear of C.R. West in the standings. No trainer has come close to McDaniel's record in the decades since.

Examining that recordbreaking run in 1954, it can be said that Shoemaker's entire 1954 Del Mar season is really symbolic of his career. It conveys the dominance he displayed throughout the 1950s and much of the 1960s. And it also shows his greatness.

He was just a teenager when he won the 1949 Del Mar title, which was in itself a preview of what to expect from the native Texan in the years to come. The 1950 title that he shared with John Longden indeed foreshadowed the link those two would have over time. And it would not be the last time the two would have a connection at Del Mar, either. Shoemaker would go on to succeed Longden as the world's winningest rider in 1970, doing so on Labor Day at the seaside.

But 1954 would prove to be Shoemaker's magnum opus when it came to Del Mar. He was multiple levels ahead of everyone in the colony, and the record of 94 wins might very well be immune to that old adage about how records are made to be broken.