Tag: Daryl Parker

Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Biggest Part’ Of His Father’s Legacy Lives On In DeShawn Parker

Perhaps the greatest legacy a man can leave behind is found in the hearts of the people whose lives he touched along the way.

Since his father's passing on March 5 of this year, jockey DeShawn Parker has found himself humbled by the number of people reaching out to tell him stories about Daryl Parker going out of his way to be kind to them.

“Dad loved everybody; there's not one person he came across he didn't try to help,” said DeShawn, 50. “So many people came up to me just to tell me how nice he was. That was the biggest part of him.”

Daryl Parker, the first African-American hired in the U.S. to be a steward in 1986, spent his career adjudicating racing at smaller tracks near the family home Ohio. His reputation was that he was extremely fair in the booth, and always found ways to help people outside his official role.

“You always felt like you should thank him for giving you days, almost,” said DeShawn. “Even when you definitely deserved days, he'd say, 'Well, do this next time, and that'll make it a little better.'”

The sentiments surrounding DeShawn's father echo those in a recent video produced by Sam Houston Race Park announcer Chris Griffin. DeShawn wintered at the track for several years, earning leading rider honors in 2019, and the video depicts members of the local jockey colony congratulating him for being voted the winner of the 2021 George Woolf Memorial Award. 

One of the most prestigious awards in all of racing and named for the legendary late Hall of Fame jockey, the Woolf Award recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The winner is selected via a nationwide vote by other jockeys.

“He's been incredible to ride against, and he's a great person, too,” jockey Sophie Doyle said in the video from Sam Houston. “He's always helpful and friendly at every racetrack I've ever ridden against him.”

“He's a great ambassador for the sport, a jockey we all look up to,” said Lane Luzzi.

“Not only is he a phenomenal rider, consistently doing it every year, but just being a great person,” added Reylu Gutierrez. “Congratulations DeShawn, you are an amazing rider and an amazing person, and I really look up to you.”

This apple obviously didn't fall far from the tree. Daryl didn't choose to impart his wisdom to his son through his words, however. He showed DeShawn what it meant to be a good man by his actions, inspiring his son to live up to that example.

Father and son grew up around the racetrack, their passions for the animal and the competition fostering an especially close relationship. Though Daryl Parker had to leave the steward's role for races in which DeShawn rode, he was fully supportive of his son entering the sport they both loved.

“They said it was a conflict of interest, but honestly, sometimes my dad was harder on me than anybody else,” DeShawn said, laughing. “He never got on me too bad about anything because I never tried to ride careless, but he wouldn't sugarcoat things. He'd say, 'You definitely deserved to get days for that.'”

Billy Johnson with Deshawn Parker

Since his father was based in Ohio, DeShawn ventured across the state border to Mountaineer Park in West Virginia, where he became the perennial leading rider for more than 20 years. While there, DeShawn worked with the late agent Billy Johnson, who helped him become the No. 1 rider in the country by wins in 2010 and '11.

“Everybody liked Billy, he's just one of those guys,” Parker said. “Never a bad word about him. Even if he spun the trainers, he would smooth it out so they weren't upset with him. He tried hard for everybody.”

They won a title together at Sam Houston in 2015, but with race days and purses declining in West Virginia, Parker made the decision to transfer his home track to Indiana Grand during the summer months. That meant a switch in agent to a mutual friend, Jimmy McNerney, for the 2017 season in Indiana.

DeShawn finished second in the standings in 2017 and 2018, fourth in 2019 despite missing time due to an injury, and finally won the title at Indiana Grand in 2020. 

“This is the best thing of the meet and of my year,” DeShawn told track publicity after the title was official. “I had some chances the past couple of years to win [the title], but I got hurt and it just didn't work out. My agent, Jimmy, always does a good job but he did an exceptional job this year for me, and I was able to stay healthy. I can't put into words what this means. This means so much to me.”

Unfortunately, 2020 was also the year that Daryl Parker spent battling a cancer diagnosis. He missed nearly the entire year of racing, and DeShawn could see how much that wore on his father.

“He loved his job, being on the track, and in fact he turned down some treatments in Cincinnati so he could go back to work,” DeShawn said. “I think he was already kind of getting depressed, sitting there doing nothing all day.”

Though Daryl had been pronounced cancer-free and returned to the stewards' booth for three weeks, the disease returned with a vengeance in December.

“It came on so quick, and he was one of those guys who was never really sick,” DeShawn said. “We knew the cancer could come back at any time, but it really hit him hard.”

Drryl was hospitalized from mid-December until his passing on March 5, and initially COVID-19 restrictions meant no family members were able to visit with him. By February, they'd moved to a different hospital and one person at a time was allowed in.

“I went every day that I was home, and we just sat there and talked,” DeShawn said. “I'm glad he got to go back to work; I don't think he would have had it any other way. They'd call him sometimes, the other stewards, like for advice on something, and you could just tell he wanted to be there.”

As the start of the 2021 season approaches at Indiana Grand, DeShawn feels like the best way to honor his father's memory is to continue working every single day at embodying the characteristics the man stood for. Compassion and kindness above all else, even when it's hard — that's Daryl Parker.

It isn't an easy thing to ask of a jockey. Every day, multiple times a day, your coworkers are trying to finish ahead of you out on the track. Add to that pressure the inherent danger of race-riding, and the jockey's quarters can easily become a pressure cooker of negative emotions.

“We all have to put that smile on our face every day, even when you get trainers complaining and maybe you don't want to say 'Thank you' and walk away,” DeShawn said. “On the track, when you get mad, you have to leave it out there because if you keep on being mad you're just going to make yourself look bad. We're all trying hard, doing the same job.”

It's that sportsmanship and positive attitude, maintained over a career of 5,846 wins to date, which earned DeShawn the Woolf Award. If he gets a bit emotional when he sees that award sitting on his shelf, it's easy to understand why. His father's inspiration and ever-present influence are what helped DeShawn to become the man worthy of such an honor.

“Our goal was to one day be stewards together at a track,” DeShawn revealed. “We may not get to do that, but I know he's riding with me now, so I just look at it that way. He's getting to do something he never got to do before, and I get to have him with me in the saddle.”

DeShawn Parker, winner of the 2021 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Biggest Part’ Of His Father’s Legacy Lives On In DeShawn Parker appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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DeShawn Parker Honored With 2021 George Woolf Memorial Award

DeShawn Parker, the five foot, 10 inch jockey who in 2010 became the first African American rider since 1895 to lead all American jockeys in races won, can now add another coveted achievement to what has been an incredible career, as he has been selected by a vote of jockeys nationwide as the winner of the 2021 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.

Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the Woolf Award can only be won once. One of the most prestigious awards in all of racing and named for the legendary late Hall of Fame jockey who gained national fame when an estimated radio audience of 40 million tuned in as he piloted Seabiscuit to victory over Triple Crown Champ War Admiral in a match race at Pimlico Race Course on Nov. 1, 1938, the Woolf Award recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

The Woolf Trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue of the legendary George Woolf which adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area.

A Cincinnati, Ohio native, Parker, 50, outpolled four other Woolf finalists, Alex Birzer, Jorge Martin Bourdieu, Kendrick Carmouche and Aaron Gryder, all of whom have plied their trade with notable distinction at tracks throughout North America.

The 2021 Woolf Award win comes on the heels of the passing of Parker's mentor and father, Daryl Parker. A longtime highly respected Ohio racing steward, Parker passed away from cancer in Cincinnati on March 4.

“My idol, my best friend and a great father!” Parker tweeted on March 5. “He meant so much to my life and my career. I can only hope to be as great as he was. I'm going to miss my Dad so much, but I know he's in a better place with no pain and living his life to the fullest up there, hanging with friends and family and talking up a storm!”

In a sport comprised of much smaller athletes, Parker has long “stood out,” but his character, ability and work ethic are factors that have far out-run initial perceptions that perhaps he was too big to be a jockey. America's leading rider with 377 wins in 2010, he came back to lead all jockeys again in 2011 with 400 trips to the Winner's Circle.

Born Jan. 8, 1971, Parker was a perennial leading rider at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia for more than 20 years. Parker, who through March 16, had 5,841 career wins, has also enjoyed considerable success at Indiana Grand, leading all riders in 2020 and at Sam Houston Race Park, where he was their leading rider in 2015.

Married with two children, Parker lives in East Liverpool, Ohio. The 2020 Woolf Award was won by Luis M. Quinones and DeShawn Parker will thus become the 72nd jockey, dating back to Gordon Glisson in 1950, to be so honored.

Due to uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 Woolf Award ceremony will be conducted at a date to-be-determined.

The post DeShawn Parker Honored With 2021 George Woolf Memorial Award appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Cancer Claims Life Of Daryl Parker; ‘Class Act’ First Black Racing Official, Father Of Jockey DeShawn

Daryl Parker, the first black racing official in North America, has passed away in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. The father of three-time national leading rider DeShawn Parker, he served as a steward at all three of the Ohio Thoroughbred tracks over the course of his career.

“I'm sad to let everybody in the Twitter and racing world know that I lost my dad Daryl E Parker last night,” DeShawn Parker posted on Twitter Friday morning. “He fought a long battle with cancer that took his life.. he's going to be missed but never forgotten!! He was loved by everybody that knew him.”

Daryl Parker also served as an exercise rider, pony boy, and jockey's agent before his tenure as a steward began in 1986.

“If you look up the definition of 'class act' in the dictionary, Daryl's photo would be there,” wrote John Engelhardt. “He always went about his business in a professional manner and lived his life surrounded by a positive outlook. In DeShawn, you can see that the apple did not fall far from the tree.”

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Diversity in Racing: Deshawn Parker

He grew up on the racetrack, mainly at the old Latonia, spending many a morning and afternoon there with his father Daryl, who worked as a jockey agent, an exercise rider and a racing official. And everywhere he went, Deshawn Parker saw people just like him. Young, Black and eager to make a name for themselves in the sport. It was the ’70s and the ’80s and at whatever track you went to, the majority of backstretch workers were African Americans. Today, they make up a small fraction of a workforce that is dominated by Hispanics.

It’s shocking,” he said. “It went from being mainly all black and now there aren’t many black people back there at all. Honestly, I have no clue why that is. I look at it and think about it every day, but I don’t have an answer for you.”

While he can’t answer why the demographics have changed so much, he is convinced that the absence of Blacks on the backstretch is a reason why there are so few African American jockeys today.

“I grew up on the racetrack and on the backside and that’s why I became a jockey,” said the 49-year-old veteran. “There were a lot of people back there who wanted to be a jockey and the backstretch is where they got their start. Now you don’t have a lot of Black families on the backside anymore, so you don’t have Blacks who want to be a jockey. You don’t get many people who didn’t grow up in racing who decide they want to be jockeys.”

The history of Black riders in this country is well known. They dominated the sport in the 19th century. In the first Kentucky Derby, in 1875, 13 of the 15 riders in the field were Black. Since 1922, only two Blacks have had mounts in the race, Marlon St. Julien in 2000 and Kevin Krigger in 2013.

Today, there are other African American jockeys who have tasted success, but not many. Kendrick Carmouche won numerous riding titles at Parx and can usually be found in the top 10 in the standings at the NYRA tracks. C.J. McMahon rides first call for Karl Broberg at Evangeline Downs and Delta Downs, where he was the second leading rider at the 2019-2020 meet. Parker would like to see ain influx of new Black riders, but he doesn’t see that happening.

But, if a young African American were to come around, they couldn’t find a better role model than Parker or his father.

In 1986, Daryl Parker became a steward, the first African American in U.S. racing history to achieve that position. Deshawn was 16 at the time and, at 5-11, appeared to be too tall to be a jockey. But his father told him that if he finished high school he had his permission to be a rider.

The elder Parker has had to take some time off while battling cancer, but his son said he’s doing well and should return to the stewards’ stand soon. He works in Ohio at Thistledown and Mahoning Valley.

“I idolized him and always tried to learn from the way he did things,” Parker said of his father.

Parker struggled, winning just 60 races total over his first five years of riding. But he kept improving and by the late ’90s was an unstoppable force at Mountaineer Park. In 2010, he led all riders in the nation with 377 wins, becoming the first Black jockey to hold that title since 1895, when James “Soup” Perkins was the leading rider in the nation. He was again the leading rider in the nation in 2011. When Mountaineer cut back on its scheduled and lowered purses, Parker left in 2016.

He’s currently the leading rider at Indiana Grand. Entering Tuesday’s card there, he had won 5,728 races from 34,379 mounts. He’s 22nd among all jockeys in lifetime wins and seventh among active riders.

He has become far more than just the best Black jockey in America.

“While it’s an honor to be the all-time leading Black jockey, you definitely want people to look at you as a good jockey, period.” he said. “You don’t want to be categorized by your color or as just a good Black jockey. It’s the same with a female or a Hispanic, most people just want to be known as a good jockey, period.”

Does he feel that he might have done even better or made it to a top circuit if not for the fact that he is Black?

“Sometimes I think the color of my skin has held me back,” he said. “I’ve never had anyone say anything racist to me to my face. I don’t know what they are saying about me behind my back. But I’m not one to make excuses or find something to blame. If things aren’t working out what I do is just try harder.”

He is a popular veteran, well-liked in the jocks room.

“I might be blind to a lot of things, but what I do is treat everybody with respect,” he said. “When I treat people with respect I expect the same in return. I always try to be polite and treat people the way I would like to be treated.”

Though he has several more good years to come, Parker has already set his goal for when he does retire. He wants to be a steward and envisions some day working alongside his father. If that happens, he will again be a rarity, an African American steward. He wishes there were dozens of Black stewards, but understands why that isn’t the case.

“[African Americans] are not around the track as much as we used to be and I can’t understand why,” Parker said. “Back in the day, it was all Blacks back there, working hard and busting their butts and looking to move up. Now, it’s mainly Hispanic people.  I don’t know what happened or where all the Black people went. But when you don’t have Blacks working in racing at any level, who is going to move up the ranks? You just don’t have many Blacks on the backside or anywhere around the track anymore. It’s a shame.”

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