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Jockeys Guild News and Articles
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR JOCKEY JUSTIN VITEKJustin's last win was aboard multiple stakes winner TIMELESS FASHION. The gelding will be running in the Tejano Run Stakes at All friends and family of Justin are invited to attend the service. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to The Bree Vitek Education Trust 7601 Rialto Blvd. #1717 Austin, TX 78735 or The Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund P.O. Box 18470 Encino, CA 91416 |
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Thursday, March 04, 2010
Javier Castellano Named Jockey of the WeekBernie the Maestro won a $51,000 allowance race at five furlongs on the turf on Sunday, providing a $35,400 of Castellano’s $208,810 in earnings last week. Through Tuesday, Castellano, 32, has won 39 races, including five stakes, from 185 mounts. He thrust himself into the Triple Crown picture on February 20, riding Discreetly Mine to a front-running victory in the $300,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds. Also that day, Castellano won the Fair Grounds Handicap (G3) aboard Blues Street. Since moving to the U.S. from his native Venezuela in 1997, Castellano has won the 2006 Preakness Stakes (G1) aboard Bernardini and the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) on eventual Horse of the Year Ghostzapper. Castellano has been based in New York since 2001 and concentrates his efforts on the New York Racing Association and Florida circuits. Thoroughbred Times TODAY
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Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Former banned jockey Houghton still battles imageSince December 2006, when Tampa Bay Downs excluded Houghton and six other riders from the track when their names came up in a race-fixing investigation, Houghton essentially has had to prove his innocence to gain permission to ride at various tracks. Each time he decides a new track might offer a career opportunity, he first faces extensive review from track officials and/or regulators, essentially forcing him to prove his innocence.
Bureau led
Still, Houghton faces scrutiny. The latest chapter occurred on February 25 as the License Review Committee of the Committee member Burr Travis noted the
“I’m hoping to eventually put all of this behind me,” said Houghton, who plans to ride this year at Mountaineer Race Track in
The investigation led to the indictments of Ghazi Manni, Mitchell Karam, and jockey Ricardo Valdes. They allegedly participated in a conspiracy from December 2005 through December ’06 to fix races at Investigators have documented numerous phone calls between Manni, an alleged bookmaker, and Valdes. Manni and Karam were also indicted last year for bribing college athletes to fix basketball and football games.
The indictment did not do the other riders, like Houghton, any favors by noting that more riders could be named in the case.
Houghton’s representatives believe the schemers’ efforts to affect race odds caused investigators to look at Houghton. They said as part of the coup, bettors would place $500 win bets on a horse, giving unwitting bettors the impression potentially “smart” money backed that horse. Often top jockeys like Houghton or
Those large wagers would create a “false favorite,” as other bettors—believing they were following smart early money—would continue to wager on the horse in all pools. The schemers focused their attention on the superfecta pools, where they would not place wagers on the “false favorite” in first. Moments before post time, the schemers would cancel the large win bet. Houghton’s representatives believe these betting patterns led investigators to look at Houghton and other riders who were not involved in the conspiracy.
The Jockeys’ Guild helped Houghton present his case to the
Houghton received a boost in July 2008 when the Michigan Office of Racing Commissioner licensed him, noting painstaking research found no wrongdoing on Houghton’s part. But as it turned out, that victory has not been definitive.
For now, he awaits the www.thoroughbredtimes.com Thoroughbred Times TODAY |
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
Ramon Dominguez Jockey of the WeekDominguez, 33, posted 11 wins and $289,820 in earnings during the period. His most lucrative ride came aboard dual champion Gio Ponti as he finished second in the Tampa Bay Stakes on February 20. Dominguez started the period with victories in the first five races at Aqueduct on February 17. He was shut out of the winner’s circle for the remainder of the day, finishing one win shy of becoming the 12th jockey to capture a record six races on a single NYRA card. “It’s unbelievable,” Dominguez said of his day. “Riding good horses without question, but things have to go right.” Dominguez currently ranks first among all North American based jockeys by wins for the year through Tuesday with 66, 13 more than his closest competitor. His $1,844,160 in purse earnings. Thoroughbred Times TODAY
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Meet Paul Atkinson
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Straight Talk About DangerThe NBC-TV Evening News anchor was moved by grief to deliver his paean to downhill skiers, snowboarders, skeleton and bobsled sliders, ski-crossers and aerialists following the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvilli in a practice run. Kumaritashvilli’s death was his sport’s first fatality since 1975.In comparison, 150 jockeys have been killed in a thoroughbred horse race since 1940, 60 are permanently disabled and three have died from their injuries in the last three and a half years, according to Terry Meyocks, national manager of the Jockeys’ Guild. A jockey has to have nerves of titanium, and bones of steel, just to work everyday. A racehorse can fall in practice, clip heels with another runner in a race, bolt unexpectedly on a turn, or rear in the starting gate. One can’t predict when an occurrence of dire consequence will transpire. And, perhaps the random nature of accidents associated with such unforeseen animal behavior enables a rider to carry on. Nevertheless, occasional bad luck’s no excuse for not keeping a history or at least an accounting of events that cause people to die or be injured on the racetracks. The tragic death of the Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, a horse, brought about the formation of The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database. One would think that we’d want the same for our sport’s human participants. “As an industry, we’ve got to work together to save lives and improve the safety of the sport,” said Meyocks, when I tried to learn more about the number of jockeys who have died or experienced career-ending injury as a result of an accident. The veteran horse racing industry executive credited Keeneland and Dr. Barry Schumer for taking a lead position in helping to develop jockey safety and mentioned a long list of other organizations and people that have contributed to their efforts. But he said also, that despite the work and generosity of many, no official database exists and that having one is imperative. “Everything takes time in this industry,” Meyocks admitted, seemingly frustrated. In the meantime, apprentice Michael Straight, a graduate of Chris McCarron’s North American Racing Academy, is one person who can tell Meyocks and the Jockeys’ Guild friends what it’s like to stare death in the face while on horseback. Straight is spending time in a wheelchair now, the victim of a nasty spill at Arlington Park. The East Greenbush, NY native has fingers crossed that he’ll walk eventually, but a lifelong dream to live the life of a jockey seems no more than a dream for him now. “Being a jockey, I knew there was a risk. But you have to be bigger than that,” Straight acknowledged in a telephone interview a few days ago. “Every time I got in the gear, I would think about where I was. I was thinking of everyone else in the race, hoping that I wouldn’t do something to hurt them,” he added. I couldn’t help but believe that in Straight the sport had lost someone special. He was polite, humble and grateful that he’d gotten as far as he did in his chosen field, and wasn’t bitter with the cards that the sport dealt him. In recounting his intimidating first mount at jockey school, Straight said, “Lots of kids had to not go along with it because they were too scared. But I wanted to be a jockey since I was seven or eight, so I wasn’t afraid.” The jockey credited an upbringing in a supportive family and friendships with jockeys at nearby Saratoga Racecourse as key to his learning process. I can’t be certain, but in talking to him, he sounded as a person well-grounded in a deep faith in God, too. Nevertheless, Straight admitted that it is “a bit reckless” to ride horses. He believes jockeys who aren’t willing to go for an advantage when presented in a race weren’t up to the task. He also admitted that his youth accommodated a beneficial impetuosity. “I’d handicap my races knowing that some older jockeys would ‘stay safer’ and then played it out as it goes. During the running of a race, you rely a lot on instinct,” he said. Straight was 24 when his accident occurred. As for which sport is the testiest, does it really matter? There’s no denying that the Olympics have been souped up considerably with daring in the last 30 years. After a slump in the TV ratings in the late 1980s, the organizers of the Winter Games deliberately began staging high-risk Medal sports that would appeal to a younger audience. This year’s ratings, in turn, are fantastic, even better than American Idol. Considering how the Olympic athletes are flinging themselves down the slopes, reaching breakneck speeds in the chutes, sliding faster than oysters down throats and soaring four stories above the surface of the mountain, Williams was spot on to say that they were cut from a different cloth than the common Joe. Yet, jockeys are extraordinary, too. “I definitely thought we are braver than the average guy,” Straight replied when I asked him if jockeys, like the Olympians, were unusual. “If you want to do it, you don’t think that you’re going to be hurt. You don’t care so much about injuries,” he said. If there is a difference between Straight and White beside the obvious, then, it’s not age, gender, weight, height, and daring, but purpose. White and his colleague Olympians court danger to make millions off the public’s fascination with it, while jockeys, like Straight, live with danger merely to keep working, their acceptance of risk rarely noticed. Vic Zast/Horseracing Insider |
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Monday, February 22, 2010
Remembering Jockey Jack RobinsonStatemaster.com, which provides a long list of current and past jockeys, had this to say about Robinson: "Jack Robinson is a make-believe or mythical person who is invoked in English language conversation to indicate a very short amount of time.... The normal usage is, '(something is done) faster than you can say Jack Robinson' or otherwise '... before you can say Jack Robinson.'" With a little more digging, plus some help from my friend Jeanne Wasserman, Satellite Manager at Robinson, who won races at every track in Robinson was known as much for being a fearless rider as for his kindness and generosity. News articles written after his death are filled with testimonials to Robinson's care and concern for his fellow horsemen, especially anyone he knew was in need. Even 18 years after his death, racing journalist Darryl Hove wrote in a glowing memorial piece about Robinson, "Jack Robinson was not a saint, but you'd be hard pressed to find a person to tell you otherwise." A native of In December 1974, a year after Robinson's death, a statue of him was unveiled at Bay Meadows Racetrack and the Jack Robinson Memorial Award inaugurated. It was presented annually to an outstanding jockey in When Bay Meadows closed down, Jeanne Wasserman decided she wanted to give the statue a worthy home. She was able to obtain permission to move it to the Pleasanton Satellite Wagering facility, where it now resides in a lovely garden patio. Thanks to Jeanne for preserving an important part of Posted by Mary Forney's Blog |
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Monday, February 22, 2010
Borel Wins Woolf AwardPresented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, Borel will become the 61st recipient of one of racing’s most coveted awards. The Woolf Award honors and recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual rider and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The Woolf Award was created to honor and memorialize Woolf, who was one of the greatest riders of his era and who died soon after a spill on the Club House turn at Santa Anita on Jan. 13, 1946. The Woolf trophy is a replica of the full-size statue of the late jockey which adorns Santa Anita’s “Bo-Rail,” as he is affectionately known due to his propensity to hug the inner rail en route to heart-pounding victories, outran four other Woolf finalists: Garrett Gomez, Randall Meier, Gallyn Mitchell and DeShawn Parker. The regular rider of the superstar filly and eventual 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, Borel stunned the racing world by orchestrating an unforgettable rail-skimming, last-to-first victory aboard New Mexico-based Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby. Off at odds of 50-1, Mine That Bird executed the second biggest upset in Derby history and his winning margin of 6 ¾ lengths was the biggest since 1946, when Assault won by eighth lengths. Mine That Bird gave Borel his second career win in the Derby, as his first came with Street Sense in 2007, in very similar fashion. Due to his association with both Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird, Borel maintained a high profile on racing’s biggest stages throughout 2009. Following his win in the Borel and Rachel Alexandra would go on to again defeat 3-year-old males in the Gr. I Haskell Stakes, and males aged 3 and up in the Gr. I Woodward Stakes at Born Nov. 7, 1966 in St. Martin Parish, From “matching” at age eight, to winning his first Kentucky Derby at age 40, Borel’s career has been punctuated by hard work and a no-nonsense approach to the sport’s daily rigors. Borel can commonly be found mucking stalls and performing other menial stable chores for his brother, trainer Cecil Borel, at An iconic figure on the Kentucky-Arkansas-Louisiana circuit, Borel has won riding titles throughout the region and he is held in the highest regard by people at every level in the racing business. From owners and trainers, to officials, media, grooms, hotwalkers, pony people and exercise riders, Borel has earned a level of respect and depth of affection seldom seen in what is an ultra competitive sport. Borel will receive the Woolf Award at Santa Anita in late March or early April, with a specific date to be announced shortly.
Santa Anita Communications Department
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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Bejarano Named Jockey of the WeekBejarano earned $493,000 last week. He leads all North American jockeys this yearby earnings with $1,789,408 through Tuesday. Bejarano also ranks third on the season by wins with 41 through Tuesday. Bejarano, 29, captured the $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes (G1) on Saturday when Blind Luck nipped Evening Jewel by nose at the finish line. The following day Bejarano rode Tuscan Evening (Ire) to victory in the $150,000 Buena Vista Handicap (G2). Bejarano has enjoyed success riding on the West Coast, joining Patrick Valenzuela and Chris McCarron as the only jockey to sweep the riding titles at all three Southern California tracks in a single season when he accomplished the feat in 2008. Born in Arequipa, Peru, Bejarano studied his craft at that nation’s riding school for 18 months and was the leading apprentice at Hippodromo de Monterrico before moving to the U.S. in 2002. He went on to lead all North American jockeys by wins in 2004 with455 victories. Thoroughbred Times TODAY |
Jockeys' Guild Annual Assembly Re-cap
Jockeys Supporting Michael Straight
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