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Eclipse Finalist Apprentice Alexander Crispin ‘Gives The Horses A Lot Of Confidence’

Alexander Crispin began 2020 fresh out of jockey school and looking to make a name for himself. The 22-year-old native of Puerto Rico begins 2021 with his name on a short list for one of Thoroughbred racing's ultimate individual honors.

Crispin, the leading rider at Laurel Park's ongoing winter meet, is among three finalists for the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice of 2020. The winners in 17 equine and human categories will be announced during a virtual ceremony starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28.

New York-based Luis Cardenas and Yarmarie Correa, who rode last year in Ohio, are the other finalists. Maryland-based riders have captured 11 of the 46 Eclipse Awards as champion apprentice, the most recent being Weston Hamilton in 2018.

Other winners are Chris McCarron (1974), Ronnie Franklin (1978), Alberto Delgado (1982), Allen Stacy (1986), Kent Desormeaux (1987), Mike Luzzi (1989), Mark Johnston (1990), Jeremy Rose (2001), Ryan Fogelsonger (2002) and Victor Carrasco (2013). Hamilton and Carrasco continue to be based in Maryland.

“That would be super special. That's something that every apprentice and every jockey would like to win,” Crispin said. “That would be super fascinating for me, super exciting. It would be an accomplishment for me. It would be something big for my first year. I would be happy to know that I did my best and worked hard and I would be satisfied. I would be really happy with it.”

Maintaining his five-pound weight allowance, Crispin went winless with one second and one third from seven mounts on Monday's special Martin Luther King Jr. holiday program at Laurel. His 16 wins top the standings at the winter meet that began Jan. 1.

Already, Crispin has registered five multi-win days through nine live programs, including back-to-back four-win efforts Jan. 3 and 8 and a six-mount win streak Jan. 8-9. His victories have come for 12 different trainers, winning multiple times for Mike Trombetta, Dale Capuano and four-time defending Maryland champion Claudio Gonzalez.

Crispin has won more often for Trombetta – a multiple Grade 1 winner of more than 1,900 career races and two-time Laurel meet leader who has ranked second to Gonzalez in overall Maryland wins the past three years and not typically prone to using bug riders – than another other trainer this year.

“I feel really satisfied because every day I the mornings I always go to the barn and check if he needs help. Even if he says they're OK, every time I go in in makes me feel good and very happy,” Crispin said. “I'm starting to get the opportunities because he likes what he sees and that makes me happy. It's very exciting.”

Crispin graduated from Puerto Rico's famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica in December 2019 and made his pro debut last Jan. 1 at Hipodromo Camarero. After coming to the U.S. late last winter, Cripsin was fifth in his mainland debut aboard Time Marches On March 7, 2020 at Turfway Park.

He continued to ride in the Midwest, picking up his first win March 12, 2020 on Thorpe d'Oro at Turfway, until moving his tack to Delaware Park for the summer. Crispin finished the Delaware meet as its leading apprentice, ranking second overall with 58 wins and fourth with more than $1.3 million in purse earnings.

Crispin arrived in Maryland in late October, two weeks into Laurel Park's fall meet, and wound up leading all apprentice riders and ranking third overall with 29 wins while banking $725,920 in purses earned.

According to Equibase statistics, Crispin ranked second among the three Eclipse finalists in wins (103) and purse earnings ($2.194 million). Correa had 118 wins and a $1.755 million bankroll in 2020, while Cardenas had 41 wins and $2.23 million in purses earned.

“He's very confident with any horse that he gets on,” Laurel-based trainer Lacey Gaudet said. In six mounts for Gaudet in 2021, Crispin has finished third three times and won aboard 4-year-old gelding Candygramformongo Jan. 8.

“The first time that we won with Alex it was a large field and it was the first horse that he had ever rode for us,” she said. “Every time he rides a horse he just comes back and he's extremely exuberant and very confident in the horses. Even if a horse isn't on the board, 1-2-3, he's always looking for the next race and ways to improve the horse. I think he gives the horses a lot of confidence and he's done really well for us.”

In addition to his hard work and confidence, Crispin can trace his path to becoming an Eclipse Award finalist all the way back to his days in Puerto Rico when he saw his first Thoroughbred race and took the advice of a high school teacher to become a professional rider.

“Everything started in middle school where I first saw a horse race. For some reason I had that connection and that desire to find out more information about what horse racing is,” Crispin said. “As soon as I found out and saw horse racing with my own eyes, I had that feeling that this is what I want. This is what I want for my future.”

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Apprentice Victor Flores Hospitalized, Suffered Head Trauma In Morning Training Incident At Fair Grounds

Apprentice jockey Victor Flores has been hospitalized due to “severe head trauma” after an incident during morning training hours at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. Wednesday morning, according to former agent, Rudy Rodriguez, Jr., who set up a GoFundMe page to help offset medical expenses for the young rider.

The Blood-Horse reports that Flores was breezing a horse for trainer Matt Shirer when the horse bolted to the outside. Flores fell in the path of oncoming traffic from horses jogging near the outside rail, and was transported to a local hospital via ambulance.

The filly Flores was riding was not injured.

Flores rode at Monmouth Park this summer, then most recently took a couple mounts at Churchill Downs before traveling to New Orleans for the winter. The apprentice has compiled a total of 24 wins since earning his license in 2018.

‘All I Wanted Was A Chance’: 35-Year-Old Apprentice Taking His Shot At Monmouth

At an age when most of those in his profession are already well established, Victor Flores is just starting. But a dream delayed beats one that is not pursued every time in the view of this 35-year-old apprentice jockey.

Flores, who arrived at Monmouth Park from California in early August, will continue to try to make up for lost time – both in his career and this season – with two scheduled mounts on Wednesday's nine-race card that kicks off the final week of the Thoroughbred racing season in New Jersey.

The Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet's closing-day card will be Saturday, Oct. 24.

Flores, who hails from Hidalgo, Mexico, was able to make some inroads at the Monmouth Park meet despite his late arrival. He had a 5-5-4 line from 48 mounts during the meet and has already won a race at the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet.

“I came to Monmouth Park because I thought I could get more opportunities to ride,” said Flores, who spent the first seven months of the year riding in California. “I heard if you work hard the trainers at Monmouth Park will give you a chance. All I wanted was a chance to show what I can do.

“I'm very happy with what I was able to do and I'm grateful to everyone who helped me and gave me a chance and supported me.”

Flores delayed the start of his riding career at first because of college, attending the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas to study animal husbandry.

“In my mind I thought I was going to be a veterinarian,” he said. “My other option was to study the Arts and become an actor.

“After I finished my studies and internships I worked for five years but the work was not enough.”

He then relocated to the United States and took a job in construction and painting in Hilton Head, S.C. and wound up as part of a crew that was sent to California to do a job. It was there, he said, that he saw Hollywood Park Racetrack for the first time. Immediately after his shift was over that day, and bitten by the racetrack bug again, he went to look for a job on the backstretch.

Eventually, the foreman for Jerry Hollendorfer's barn gave him a job galloping horses, which he did for six years. Flores launched his riding career in 2018, doing so without the help of an agent, a challenging endeavor for any jockey. He is now represented by Rudy Rodriguez, Jr.

“I've always loved horses since I was young,” he said. “Once I started galloping them I knew I wanted to be a rider.”

That Flores is still an apprentice after nearly three years of riding is another part of his improbable story. Four months into his riding career he was involved in a spill and suffered a dislocated shoulder that sidelined him for four months. Less than two months after returning he broke his collarbone when the horse he was on went down during a morning work.

“I was wondering `Why me?' ” he said. “Just before that happened, that weekend, I had so many horses (to ride) and several had a chance to win. The falls totaled nine months of me being out.”

Because of the missed time the California Thoroughbred Racing Commission granted him an extension of 219 days to continue as an apprentice. It's the same number of days he was sidelined for.

His apprenticeship was due to expire July 14, 2020 but was extended through Feb. 18, 2021 – or until he wins 40 races.

He currently has 23 career wins.

“I feel like this year I did get the attention of some trainers at Monmouth, even though I wasn't here very long,” he said. “At first I was only riding a few horses a week. Now it seems like I am getting more chances and I am getting them on live shots. Right now, I just want to ride. The more I ride the better I will get. I hope this is just the start for me.”

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