The silks Skelton wore to victory in 1886 are today in the possession of Aintree Racecourse and are occasionally displayed in the weighing room bar on Grand National day.
It is most commonly believed among racing historians that Skelton was born in Lichfield on 21 November 1856 and apprenticed to Tom Stevens at Chilton, Oxfordshire, then in Berkshire.
Described by contemporaries as 'a good flat jockey', he also rode under National Hunt rules where he achieved his greatest success.
He was very light and in the words of one authority "although always thought of as a somewhat delicate man to be engaged in the hazardous trade of jump jockey, his determination and flair had long been acknowledged".
Skelton was arranging to return to live at Newmarket, but died while visiting friends at Kentford close to that town on 27 November 1900.