A press release out of Santa Anita Park this afternoon announced that Junior Alvarado has Won the 2024 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. It is widely regarded as one of the most cherished honors given to a jockey, as each year’s Winner is determined by a vote of their peers. “That’s what makes it so special, that you have some impact on riders across the … Continue reading Junior Wins Big Award.
The $400,000, Grade 2 Fountain Of Youth Stakes is Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Some of the top 3-year-olds in the country will do battle in this 1 1/16-mile contest. The Fountain of Youth is named after the mythical spring that attracted explorers to Florida in the 16th Century. The race was first held in 1945, and has been run every year since 1953. In 1973, it … Continue reading Stars Of The Past, FOY Edition
The competition for qualifying points for the 2024 Kentucky Derby heats up on Saturday with the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. This is the first prep race offering 50 qualifying points to the Winner. That should be enough to secure a spot in the field of 20 for the May 4th Run For The Roses, but coming close can be rewarding as well … Continue reading Who Wins The Risen Star
Saturday is the Grade 3, $250,000 dollar Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. It is is the first of three Derby preps at the Florida venue, and 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points are available to the top five eligible finishers. The 1 1/16-mile Stakes features the 2024 debut of FIERCENESS, last year’s 2-year-old Champion and Winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Here is a look at the lineup for the … Continue reading Who Wins The Holy Bully Stakes?
At 4 feet 11 inches tall and 98 pounds, it didn’t look like Bill Shoemaker could walk a big dog, let alone control a head-strong Thoroughbred Race Horse a dozen times his weight. Still, Shoemaker personified that mysterious bond between horse and rider. He communicated with an innate light touch on the reins, coaxing the horse into the action, gentling it with his hands. Horses would always … Continue reading Bill Shoemaker
The Kentucky Derby is not only the most anticipated, most watched Thoroughbred race in the world but an essential part of American sports culture. Memories are made with each Run For The Roses that over the passage of time become legend, not only to day-to-day followers of horse racing but to the general public. While the most memorable Derbys usually involve a heavily-favored horse Winning and thus … Continue reading Kentucky Derby Upsets
The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) is a public charity that provides financial assistance to 60 former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Since its founding in 2006, the fund has disbursed nearly $11 million dollars to permanently disabled jockeys, most of whom have sustained paralysis or brain injuries. Many of the jockeys the PDJF serve were injured while in their 20s and 30s and … Continue reading How To Help The PDJF
Think you have what it takes to become a jockey? Physically you need to weigh roughly between 108-118 pounds. There is no height limit for jockeys, though most are fairly short, given the weight limitation. The lankiest of jockeys is no more than 5 foot 5 inches tall. And despite their diminutive stature, riders must be able to control a horse that weighs 1,200 pounds, that travels … Continue reading So, You Want To Be A Jockey?
The Breeders’ Cup is two weeks away. On November 3rd and 4th the best horses, trainers and jockeys will convene at Santa Anita Park for the World Series of Horse Racing. In regard to the riders, several of the all-time Winningest jockeys in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships history are still active. So if you are stuck between two horses in any given race and looking for … Continue reading Top Breeders’ Cup Jockeys
Every sport has a definitive year-ending event to crown its Champions. In Thoroughbred racing, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships is the culmination of the horse racing season worldwide. The $6 million dollar Breeders’ Cup Classic is the defining race of this international event. The Classic is run at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt track and draws the top international Thoroughbreds. It is open to … Continue reading A Decade Of ‘Classic’ Champions
