Jockey Club

The Jockey Club, created by Standard Manufacturing Company of Chicago in January 1933, is an early pure mechanical pinball machine designed by S. Simonson. It arrived during pinball's formative years in the early 1930s, as coin-operated bagatelle-style games were rapidly gaining popularity across the country.

The gameplay features that set Jockey Club apart are simple yet captivating: players could choose one-cent or five-cent play, and the game simulated a horse race by shooting six vari-colored balls into play simultaneously, sending them "bunching at the turns" and "zig-zagging thru the pins" past the judges' stand to determine a winner, per its period Billboard advertisement. Aluminum ramp walls added a touch of elegance, and the game was advertised at 32 inches long by 18 inches wide, housed in a walnut-finished cabinet with removable legs priced at $17.50 each.

The Jockey Club's horse-racing theme was both nostalgic and topical for its era. While extensive documentation is scarce, its rarity and early production date make it a notable find for collectors, offering a glimpse into pinball's earliest years as a coin-operated amusement.