Ronnie Franklin (Ron Franklin) was born
on December 20, 1959. He grew up in a suburb of Baltimore, MD., the youngest of six children.
Ronnie attended Patapsco High School. High school did not hold his interests, so he decided to
leave high school prior to finishing.
Ronnie grew up in a close knit community.
Ronnie was not afraid to try
anything once and was always willing to try something new. He had decided early on what he did not want for himself, he said he did
not want “no windows,” when it came to a career. So he left his childhood friends behind and headed off looking for a new adventure.
He decided to look for employment
at a local race track in Maryland because he had decided he wanted to become a jockey. He had told his
close friends that he was going to be a jockey.
He was soon hired by Richard Delp (brother of Grover (Bud) Delp.) This
was the beginning of his journey to becoming a jockey, but first he had to learn his way around the track, by performing various
duties around the track such as stable hand, hotwalker, etc.
