A rider doesn't necessarily have to win a lot of races in a week or a major stakes race to earn Jockey of the Week honors. Sometimes just one particular win at a prestigious racetrack for a very special trainer is what it takes.
For jockey Jacqueline A. Davis, it was her first win at Saratoga that garnered Jockey of the Week honors for Aug. 8 through Aug. 14 and the special trainer is her father, retired jockey Robbie Davis. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, honors 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.
Davis is no stranger to Saratoga having been born there and spent summers watching her dad as he rode the Saratoga meeting. She has ridden at Saratoga at times over her career that began in 2008 but a Saratoga win has been elusive. Davis graduated from the inaugural class at the North American Racing Academy near Lexington, Ky., where she earned an associate degree in equine science.
What better way to record that first win at Saratoga than for your dad and on a 24-1 shot named Vallelujah leading to a huge and festive winner's circle celebration? This first win at the track known as the Spa was certainly worth the wait.
“This means the world to me because it's my first race at Saratoga and for my dad especially,” Davis told Horse Racing News' Andrew Capone. “I know he won a lot of races here as a jockey, but us together – I'm beside myself, I'm so happy. I didn't know if I was going to cry, laugh or fall off after the wire.”
“I'm so excited, I just can't believe it,” a very proud Robbie Davis told Maggie Wolfendale of FOX Sports. “I've been on this filly every day, and Jackie coming in from Finger Lakes to ride. This is just incredible – the only thing better than this is the Travers.”
Davis's career has taken her around the mid-Atlantic tracks and also Aqueduct. She has been riding the majority of the last two years at Finger Lakes where she currently sits in fifth place with 33 wins. Last year, she finished in the top 10.
Through Aug. 15, Davis has won 790 races from 7,290 starts with more than $17 million in purses. She is the sister of jockey Dylan Davis and Katie Davis McCarthy.
The other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Tyler Gaffalione who captured his first Arlington Million, Harry Hernandez who won nine races at Canterbury, Juan J. Hernandez who won the G2 Best Pal, and Vladimir Jensen who won the most races during the week with 11 at the Tillamook Fair.
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