Globetrotting and humble, jockey Joel Rosario needed only 11 racing days at Oaklawn to reach $1 million in purse earnings during the 2021-2022 meeting that began Dec. 3.
Rosario hit seven figures Feb. 21 – the last day he's ridden at the Hot Springs, Ark., track – before traveling to Saudi Arabia for the world's richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), Feb. 26.
Of course, Feb. 10 was a noteworthy date for Rosario, too. That night at Santa Anita, Rosario, 37, was honored with his first Eclipse Award as the country's outstanding jockey of 2021.
“Very happy and thankful for the people that have really given me the opportunity to be here,” Rosario said following the Feb. 11 card at Oaklawn. “I have good people behind me. They gave me the support and opportunity to be there. I wouldn't be there without them. I'm really happy.”
After leading the country in purse earnings ($32,944,478), stakes victories (69) and graded stakes victories (49) in 2021, Rosario was the runaway winner in Eclipse balloting conducted by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB). Rosario collected 213 first-place votes. Runner-up Irad Ortiz Jr. received 17.
Rosario had been a finalist for champion jockey multiple times before finally breaking through in 2021. A native of the Dominican Republic, Rosario rode his first winner in the United States in 2006. His Hall of Fame-caliber resume includes more than 3,000 career victories, 15 in Breeders' Cup races and three in Triple Crown events, with his mounts earning more than $265 million. Rosario won the $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1) in 2013 in the United Arab Emirates aboard Animal Kingdom. Rosario also won the 2013 Kentucky Derby aboard Orb.
Ron Anderson, Rosario's longtime agent, said he believes Rosario could have won the award at least two other times, including 2020, but many voters only scan the top line – purse money.
“And a lot of times, it's not that,” Anderson said. “Like (analyst) Joaquin Jaime on TVG described it very well. You kind of have to look at the whole body of work, on whether it's the horse, the jock, the trainer. It's not always about the money and I think Joel was compromised by that thought and people not in tune. And back when he won the World Cup and won on Orb, I honestly think that could have been a year that they voted him an Eclipse. But it's never about him to a fault. He's always about the animal and the this, the that. 'Joel, you're on the third-best horse in this race and you won.' He doesn't want to take any credit. We laugh about it. In like 10 years, I think maybe four times he took credit for a horse that I know wasn't the best and he won.”
After suffering a hairline fracture of a rib in Dec. 2 accident at Aqueduct, Rosario resumed riding Jan. 14 Oaklawn. A regular in Hot Springs for the first time, Rosario is winning at a robust 26-percent clip (15 for 58) and his mounts have already earned $1,061,222. Rosario won the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses Feb. 12 aboard Plainsman.
Rosario is named on five horses Sunday at Oaklawn, including four for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
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