Well Known In Pennsylvania, Jockey Silvera Plans To Pick Up More Mounts In Maryland

Jockey Ruben Silvera, far and away the leading rider at Parx this year, may soon be bringing his talent to Maryland on a more regular basis.

The 33-year-old Panama native is in the midst of a career year with 144 wins, already having topped his previous high of 124 from 2020 and ranking in the top 10 nationally. He is also less than $72,000 from besting last year's $3,505,099 in purse earnings.

Much of Silvera's success comes from his association with trainer Jamie Ness, a winner of 3,378 career races and currently tied for third with 15 wins from 65 starters at the extended Preakness Meet at historic Pimlico Race Course, which returns to action with a live eight-race program Friday and runs through Aug. 22.

During the Preakness meet, Silvera has two wins, two seconds and three thirds from eight mounts with $124,945 in purses earned. Seven of his rides have been on Ness horses, including Indian Lake, winner of the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby July 24.

“He likes to ride, and he's a good rider. He's the leading rider by far at Parx,” Ness said. “He's going to try to come down to Laurel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, be at Laurel more in the fall. He's trying to get his foot in the door. Another top rider in the jock's colony is always better.”

 

Laurel Park, after completing a reconstruction of its main track, will have horses back on the grounds next week and open its calendar year-ending fall meet Sept. 9.

Through Aug. 4, Silvera had won 142 races and $3.247 million in purse earnings from 569 mounts at Parx since the meet opened Jan. 4, leading runner-up Frankie Pennington by 45 wins and $517,808. Pennington owns nearly 2,700 lifetime wins and is a member of the Parx Hall of Fame.

Silvera will continue to ride at Parx, which operates on a Monday through Wednesday schedule, with Laurel scheduled to run Thursdays through Sundays.

“We'll see what happens. I'll talk to Jamie about it more over the next couple of weeks, but wherever Jamie wants him to go is where we're going to go,” Silvera's agent, Richard Englander, said. “It makes sense for him.”

Both Silvera and Englander have connections to Maryland. Silvera's wife's brother-in-law is former jockey Elvis Trujillo, who launched his training career last summer at Laurel. Among his 2,102 wins as a rider was the 2018 General George (G3) with Something Awesome.

Englander was voted the Eclipse Award as North America's leading owner in 2001 and 2002 and won 1,384 races between 2000 and 2009 including a high of 405 in 2001. He is also a General George winner, taking the 2003 edition with My Cousin Matt when it was a Grade 2.

My Cousin Matt's win in 1:22.12 for seven furlongs over a sloppy track came 26 minutes before Xtra Heat captured the Barbara Fritchie (G2) in 1:24.76 in what would be the final race of her Hall of Fame career.

“That was a crazy race he ran that day. Xtra Heat was a freak. To beat her by [two] seconds at the same distance the next race on the same track? That was just crazy,” Englander said. “He was a great sprinter.”

 A contemporary of Luis Saez in Panama where they attended the country's jockey school, Silvera rode his first U.S. race at Gulfstream Park, finishing fourth with Great Bear March 24, 2011. He picked up his first winner aboard Power Rules May 7, 2011 at Calder Race Course.

Equibase statistics show Silvera with 744 wins and $21.97 million in purse earnings from 5,305 career mounts. He already has six wins this month including a four-win day Aug. 4.

 “I love the riders out of Panama. They're strong, strong riders and real good riders, most of them. That's the group he came from,” Englander said. “He is [a hard worker]. He really is, especially for a leading rider that's like 40-something in front. You would think that he could maybe get lazy, but no. He works five, six days a week. That's Ruben.”

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Laurel Park: Retired Jockey Trujillo Scores Initial Win As Trainer

Ejetero LLC's Voodoo Valley tracked pacesetting Chuck's Dream into mid-stretch, surged to the lead inside the eighth pole and drew off by 2 1/4 lengths to give ex-jockey Elvis Trujillo his first career victory as a trainer in Saturday's second race at Laurel Park in Maryland.

A 5-year-old gelding racing first time for Trujillo, Voodoo Valley ($15.60) ran one mile in 1:39.36 over a fast main track to earn his second career triumph from 22 starts in the claiming event for 3-year-olds and up.

It was the fourth career starter for the 36-year-old Trujillo, who ran sixth with Mystic Times in Friday's fifth race at Laurel. The Panama native was second with Confusion Baby Boy and fourth with Eje Gama in his training debut Aug. 9 at Monmouth Park.

Trujillo was not in the winner's circle for Voodoo Valley's photo, choosing to stay back at the barn with Ejetero's Lady Rozina, who ran fifth in Saturday's fourth race. Trujillo has eight horses stabled on the Laurel backstretch.

“It feels so good, brother. It's amazing. Everybody is watching and everybody is jumping. I am so happy,” Trujillo said. “It's so good. It's good for me, it's good for my family. It's good for everybody.”

Breaking from the far outside, Chuck's Dream was sent to the lead and held it through fractions of 24.10 seconds for a quarter-mile and 47.08 for the half, opening up by as many as six lengths while jockey Luis Garcia kept Voodoo Valley in the clear in second. Voodoo Valley began to gain ground midway around the turn and straightened for home with sights set on the leader, steadily grinding away through the lane to gain the advantage on Chuck's Dream, who held second over Just Chill Out.

Voodoo Valley had not run since running fourth in a 1 1/16-mile claimer Aug. 1 over a muddy Laurel track for previous trainer Jonathaniel Badillo.

“He surprised me today,” Trujillo said. “He was training good an everything, but the last time when he finished fourth he had an issue that we had to figure out and take care of. Thank God he got it done today. He ran great and Luis gave him a great ride.”

A 2000 graduate of Panama's Laffit Pincay Jr. jockey school, Trujillo first came to the U.S. in November 2001, landing in Southern California after riding 90 winners in his home country and Mexico City. He spent time on circuits in Chicago, Florida and New Jersey, winning meet titles in 2007 at the former Calder Race Course and 2009, 2011 and 2012 and Monmouth Park.

Trujillo won 2,102 races and more than $70 in purses between 2001 and 2018. He came to Maryland to ride full-time in the fall of 2017 at the behest of his uncle, Laurel-based trainer Jose Corrales, after spending that summer riding in China. Trujillo won 28 races over the next four months, including the General George (G3) aboard Corrales-trained Something Awesome, before injuring his ribs and sternum in a three-horse spill March 10, 2018. Once healed, he considered a comeback to riding before ultimately transitioning into a new career.

In all, Trujillo won 45 career graded stakes, five of them Grade 1, including his breakthrough victory in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint aboard Maryfield, on whom he also won the Ballerina (G1). His best horse was Presious Passion, teaming up to win six graded stakes and nearly $1.9 million in purse earnings from 2007-10.

Trujillo said he had a lot of help making the career change, including his uncle, his wife Raquel, Badillo and Abel Castellano, the brother of Hall of Famer Javier Castellano who also transitioned from jockey to trainer.

“I feel so good, man,” Trujillo said. “Everybody helped me a lot and supported me so much in making the big change.”

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‘I Can Eat Pizza’: Rider-Turned-Trainer Elvis Trujillo Enjoying Career Change

For the first time in more than two years, Elvis Trujillo's name is back in the racing program. But don't look for it in the usual place.

Trujillo, 36, won 2,102 races as a jockey between 2001 and 2018 but will send out just his third starter as a trainer and first ever at Laurel Park in Friday's fifth race. The gelding Mystic Times, owned by Ejetero LLC, drew Post 4 of eight in the six-furlong claiming sprint for 3-year-olds and up.

A Maryland-bred son of Tiznow, Mystic Times has a record of 2-3-2 from 15 lifetime starts including a waiver claiming victory for previous trainer Jose Corrales June 5 at Laurel. Corrales, also a former rider, is Trujillo's uncle.

“He's a 4-year-old and I think he has a good chance,” Trujillo said. “He is a very good horse.”

A native of Panama who graduated from its famed Laffit Pincay Jr. jockey school in 2000, Trujillo came to Maryland to ride full-time in the fall of 2017 at the behest of Corrales, after spending that summer riding in China.

Trujillo won 28 races over the next four months, including the General George (G3) aboard Corrales-trained Something Awesome, before injuring his ribs and sternum in a three-horse spill March 10, 2018. Once healed, he considered a comeback to riding before ultimately transitioning into a new career.

“After I got hurt, I started training horses with my uncle,” Trujillo said. “Now I've got my license and I'm starting on my own. It is very exciting. I'm happy. I am starting my career as a trainer.”

Trujillo launched his career Aug. 9 at Monmouth Park, running second with Confusion Baby Boy and fourth with Eje Gama, both owned by Ejetero. He named Eclipse Award champion Weston Hamilton to ride Mystic Times.

“I was lucky to win a lot of races as a jockey and now I want to try to do the same as a trainer. I am going to try the best I can,” Trujillo said. “I thank God for giving me the opportunity to start again. It's a different way but it's good. I'm happy.”

Trujillo currently has eight horses stabled at Laurel Park. In addition to his uncle, he credits his wife, Raquel, with being a major influence in his new undertaking.

“I'm working with my wife. She pushes me a lot to try different things,” he said. “My uncle helps me a lot. I am very thankful to him and to everyone that has helped me get this far.”

Trujillo first came to the U.S. in November 2001, landing in southern California after riding 90 winners in Panama and Mexico City. He rode his first winner on Nov. 28 of that year aboard Britetonzmyday at Hollywood Park, a horse trained by former Eclipse Award-winning apprentice Wesley Ward.

From there, Trujillo spent time riding on circuits in Chicago, Florida and New Jersey, winning meet titles in 2007 at the former Calder Race Course and 2009, 2011 and 2012 at Monmouth Park. His 2,000th career victory came May 9, 2015 aboard first-time starter Matriculate at Santa Anita.

Before making Maryland his home, Trujillo shipped in to ride over the years and won such races as the 2010 Maryland Million Starter Handicap with Northpoint Costas, 2012 Laurel Dash with filly Jazzy Idea, and 2012 Selima with Mystic Love.

In all, Trujillo won 45 career graded stakes, five of them Grade 1, including his breakthrough victory in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint aboard Maryfield, on whom he also won the Ballerina (G1). His best horse was Presious Passion, teaming up to win six graded stakes and nearly $1.9 million in purse earnings from 2007-10.

“It's different. Now I spend more time with the horses and enjoy it more,” Trujillo said. “Before when I was riding you would go ride and go home. Now we have to feed them and take care of them. I get to spend more time with my kids, too. I love it.”

Trujillo, a well-liked and well-respected rider who battled weight issues throughout his career, has enjoyed other benefits of his new job.

“Sometimes I miss riding but I always had trouble with the weights. I couldn't enjoy it anymore because I had to lose a lot of weight,” he said. “Now, I can eat pizza. I can eat whatever I want.”

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