Career
As a young boy, Costello lived at the New York House of Refuge, a place for juveniles convicted of crimes or adjudicated as vagrants. He was one of a number of small boys given a place to live and work at the 800-acre (32 km2) Long Island Thoroughbred racehorse farm of George L. Lorillard. There, Costello was given an education in a classroom built at the stables by Lorillard, who encouraged their studies and gave prizes to leading students.
Along with the other boys, Tom Costello helped maintain the stables and learned to ride horses.
After a five-year apprenticeship, they were given a chance to became professional jockeys. Costello was highly successful and became wealthy from riding.
According to an 1881 newspaper report, by age fifteen he was worth $30,000.
