Jockey Reylu Gutierrez has raced at 20 different racetracks in 2021, but he seems to have found a home at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La. His stakes double earned Jockey of the Week honors for Dec. 20 through Dec. 26. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.
Gutierrez, riding regularly at Fair Grounds for the first time, has made an impact over the first month of the season. On Sunday, trainer Dallas Stewart enlisted Gutierrez to pilot Chess Chief in the aptly named Tenacious Stakes. Breaking from post 10, Chess Chief stalked the leaders while in heavy traffic for most of the run through the backstretch. At the top of the lane, it was a battle to the wire between Chess Chief, Happy American and Pirate's Punch. Chess Chief prevailed by the slimmest of margins in a final time of 1:43.39 for the 1 1/16-mile dirt contest.
In the following race, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen gave a leg up to Gutierrez on Halo Again in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial, held over 1 1/16 miles on the Stall-Wilson turf course. Quickest from the gate at odds of 8-1, Halo Again made every pole a winning one while repelling the late run of Pixelate and Monarchs Glen to post a one-half length win in 1:43.22. The win was Gutierrez's third of the day and the second riding for Asmussen.
“It means the world to me,” the 26-year-old Gutierrez told Fair Grounds publicity. “The credit goes to (agent) Jose Santos. “We're everywhere – I rode at Turfway on Thursday, here at Fair Grounds, at Oaklawn. I'm just trying work hard. I'd like to be a part of at least one horse for every stable on this backside and get everybody to know me. I'll ride for anybody. It doesn't have to be a favorite.”
A finalist for the 2018 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice, Gutierrez was born in Rochester, New York. He is the son of Finger Lakes trainer Luis Gutierrez and his uncle is retired Finger Lakes jockey Jose Gutierrez.
Weekly statistics for Gutierrez were 15-3-2-3 and purse earnings of $176,178. He currently sits in second place in Fair Grounds standings with 17 wins and $669,650 in purses.
Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Alex M. Cruz who was tied with Luis Saez for number of wins for the week, Kevin Roman with a 31.5 percent win rate, Luis Saez with two stakes wins, and John Velazquez who won the G1 La Brea.
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