His parents didn't want him to become a jockey and refused to sign the necessary papers for an apprenticeship, so Adams misrepresented his age and became a journeyman immediately.

John Adams began his professional riding career at Riverside Park Racetrack in Kansas City.

He went on to become a leading jockey beginning in the mid-1930s, with 43 percent of his mounts finishing in the top three over a 24-year period ending in 1958, when he retired due to a back injury.

On the horses he considered the two best he ever rode, he won the 1939 Santa Anita Handicap with Kayak II and the 1954 Preakness Stakes with Hasty Road.

Tobin's 1977 upset over Seattle Slew in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack.