Osborne Celebrated English Jockey

Illustration of a man in blue and white and wearing a hat on a white background with black text along the top

This button was a give-away button from American Pepsin Gum Company and was part of a collectible set. Early in the 20th century, New Jersey based American Pepsin Gum Company, a gum and candy business, distributed these pinback style buttons in their products to advertise.

Many gum manufacturers in the late 1800's used pepsin powder in their chewing gum and marketed it as a way to aid in digestion. Pepsin was thought to settle stomach issues and help people with digestive concerns

John Howe Osbourne, or John Jr., was a very successful English jockey, trainer, owner and breeder of thoroughbreds for over 46 years. His first race was in 1846 for the Wilton Cup at Radcliffe Bridge in Bury and his last was in 1892 at St. Leger. Over the span of his career he won 12 Classics, the race in England that tests three year olds on the flat. He was most successful on the mount Apology, having won three of his 12 Classic wins on her. Osbourne gave freely to the poor of Middleham and Wensleydale which strained his family finances considerably. Upon his retirement, the community gifted him with 3,600 guineas. He fathered ten sons and three daughters. At his death, his son Frederick took over the running of the family home/stables, Brecongill. J. B. Radoliffe published the book "Ashgill: or, the Life and Times of John Osbourne" in 1900.