Month: October 2022

Recently retired Daily Racing Form National Correspondent and Racing Hall of Fame inductee Jay Privman will be honored on Saturday at Santa Anita, as the track has named Saturday's fourth race in his honor and will present him with a plaque acknowledging his 40-plus years of covering the Sport of Kings.

Inducted into the Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in August, 2021, Privman began his journalistic journey in racing while an undergrad at Cal State Northridge.

“I've been to many racetracks all over the world and there's no more beautiful place to watch a race than Santa Anita,” said Privman, who currently resides in Carlsbad, Calif., with his wife Anne.

A Los Angeles native, Privman began covering high school football on a part-time basis for the LA Daily News while enrolled as a journalism student at CSUN in the winter of 1979-80. With no one regularly assigned to cover horse racing, Privman requested to cover some big races that winter at Santa Anita.

The primary reason Privman sought the racing assignment? His name was Spectacular Bid. An imposing Maryland-bred colt, grey in color and trained by the irascible Grover G. (Bud) Delp, “The Bid” had won the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and had taken up residence at The Great Race Place in advance of his 4-year-old campaign.

Spectacular Bid would go on to have a winter for the ages, winning four graded stakes–the Grade 2 Malibu on Jan. 5, 1980, the G2 San Fernando on Jan. 19, the G1 Strub on Feb. 3, and the G1 Santa Anita Handicap under 130 pounds on March 2, all in combination with a jockey named Bill Shoemaker and on all four occasions with a gutty California-bred named Flying Paster checking in second.

From that point forward, it's safe to say that through an incredible career that saw him cover racing for the Daily News full-time for 10 years beginning in 1981, serve as West Coast editor for the Racing Times from 1991-92, West Coast correspondent for the New York Times from 1992-98 and finally as National Correspondent for DRF from 1998 until his retirement this past September, Privman's love for and devotion to racing never waned.

“We're honored to be able to name a race for Jay and to acknowledge his contributions to racing,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager. “Jay's love of the game and his professionalism through these many years are what made him stand out. He covered our sport with a steady hand and was always fair.

“Although we certainly miss him in print and as a regular voice on radio, we're happy that with all of his newly found free time as a retiree, he'll be able to spend significant amounts of quality time with us as a fan and horseplayer. He's truly a Hall of Famer and we wish him and Anne all the best in the years to come.”

In all, Privman, 62, whose resume also includes television assignments with CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBCSN and as the Saturday morning radio host of “Thoroughbred Los Angeles” on KLAA, AM 830, covered 39 of the past 41 Kentucky Derbies dating back to 1982 and 37 of the 38 runnings of the Breeders' Cup World Championships beginning at Hollywood Park in 1984.

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Soft-spoken with an unassuming manner, Leonel Reyes has steadily established himself as one of Gulfstream Park's most respected jockeys while still managing somehow to ride under the radar of some horsemen and racing fans.

The 36-year-old jockey had a much higher profile in his native Venezuela, where he was a two-time national champion before venturing to the U.S. in 2016. He arrived in South Florida with little fanfare and has had to prove himself, quietly and steadily, as a solid member of the Gulfstream Park jockey's room.

“When you move to another country, it's difficult in the beginning,” said Reyes, who was a nine-time titlist at National Racetrack Valencia while riding more than 1400 winners in Venezuela. “Now, I'm happy here.”

Although it wasn't easy to make a fresh start in the U.S. after reaching such lofty heights in Venezuela, Reyes has never looked back in his quest to build a better life for his family, his wife Daniela, and daughters Leona (12), Donna (9) and Lea (1 ½).

While learning the English language, Reyes let his riding speak to his abundant talent, showing himself to be an astute judge of pace when riding closers and front-runners. His win-rate hovered around 10 percent for the first few years in the U.S. – a figure that includes four months riding against the best riders in the world during Gulfstream's Championship Meet – but he has regularly ranked among the top jockeys based on average-win payoff.

“I ride here at Gulfstream all year and, naturally, the winter meet is a very good meet,” he said. “I try my best on every mount. I don't care if I'm on the favorite or not.”

Reyes' patience and quiet confidence in his abilities are paying off in 2022, during which he has ridden the winners of 128 races and nearly $4.5 million in purses. He branched out from South Florida for the first time during the summer months, riding at Gulfstream's Royal Palm Meet and Colonial Downs in Virginia. He ranked second during both meetings while finishing behind Miguel Vasquez with 85 winners at Gulfstream and introducing himself to the Mid-Atlantic with 18 winners, seven behind titlist Jevian Toledo.

“It's been an amazing year. It's a dream. I had a good year at Colonial Downs. I finished second. Here, it's been amazing too,” said Reyes, who expressed appreciation for his long-time agent, Jose Sanchez. “I'm very happy.”

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher named Reyes to ride his first starter of the current Sunshine Meet, and the low-profile jockey gave Hoax a high-energy ride to prevail aboard the juvenile daughter of Practical Joke by a nose in an Oct. 7 optional claiming allowance.

“Mr. Pletcher is a great, great trainer,” Reyes said. “I was very happy to win that race for him.”

Reyes hasn't made it to the top of the jockey's standings at Gulfstream quite yet but his heightened success in 2022 has him feeling on top of the world.

Reyes is named in eight of nine races when Gulfstream resumes live racing Friday with a 12:35 p.m. first race post.

The post Patience, Quiet Confidence Paying Off For Former Venezuelan Champion Jockey Leonel Reyes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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