Emmanuel Esquivel has been quickly closing in on his first milestone of 1,000 career wins. Following a riding double at Hawthorne Racecourse Sunday, Nov. 6, it didn't take long for the veteran rider to reach the milestone with a win on the Tuesday, Nov. 8 racing program at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Esquivel scored an exciting win aboard Colonel Aby B in the $23,000 turf event, the fifth race of the day.
Esquivel began in contention for the top spots early on in the one-mile turf race but stayed in mid pack along the inside through most of the mile. Coming into the stretch, he was in the middle of the track behind horses and identified a path along the inside rail. Colonel Aby B shot down to the inside and began to advance, timing the move just right for the win by a head over Decree of Love and Fernando De La Cruz. Investment Income and Santo Sanjur finished third.
Colonel Aby B was the favorite of the nine horse field, paying $4.00 for the win. The Colonel John mare is owned by Mike Fitch's Oak Knoll Farm LLC and trained by Brian Williamson. It was her second win in the career of the five-year-old mare with Esquivel guiding her to both wins this season.
“I want to thank Brian (Williamson) for giving me this opportunity to ride this mare,” said Esquivel. “This milestone came up pretty quick. I won two races at Hawthorne Sunday and was hoping to get a third but I'm glad to get it here (at Horseshoe Indianapolis). I have done well here, and I love it here.”
One aspect of getting the milestone for Esquivel was to have his family around for the win. The family man was joined by his wife, Karla, and three kids, Ali, Evie, and Noah for the presentation by Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing.
“I want to thank my parents,” said Esquivel. “They always encouraged me to do what I liked, and I wouldn't be here without that support. I also want to thank my uncle Cipriano Contreras. He's the one that got me started here in Indiana, and I appreciate that greatly. It was also important to me to have my wife and kids here for the win. I wanted to make sure they could take the picture with me.”
Esquivel, a native of Mexico, began coming to Indiana about five years ago to ride in stakes races for Contreras. He decided to move his tack to Indiana from PARX full time in 2020 and has been among the track's top 10 jockeys for the past three years. He is currently ranked fifth on the list of leading jockeys for 2022 in Indiana and his win aboard Colonel Aby B was his 66th of the meet. Horses he has guided have made more than $2 million this season alone at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He has nine stakes wins to his credit at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Overall, Esquivel has earned in excess of $29 million in purse earnings. His riding career began in 2013 where he grew up at Hawthorne, winning his first race in his fifth start aboard Everybody Lies. He went on to land several titles at both Hawthorne and Arlington Park. His career eventually landed him at Aqueduct which led him to PARX outside Philadelphia, Pa.
The 20th season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing extends through Wednesday, Nov. 23. Live racing is conducted at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday with Thursday post times set for 2:10 p.m. A total of 12 Saturdays will feature live racing in 2022 highlighted by the 28th running of the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby and the 27th running of the Grade 3 $200,000 Indiana Oaks set for Saturday, July 9. For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis.
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