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Retired Jockeys Share Insights In Latest Thoroughbred Owner Conference Session

Former track announcer Tom Durkin moderated a spirited panel of retired jockeys as part of the Thoroughbred Owner Conference series' sixth session, which was held Tuesday, Aug. 3. The conference series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and Stonestreet Farm.

Tuesday's session was sponsored by Airdrie Stud, Starlight Racing, and The Green Group. The panelists were Donna Barton Brothers, Chris McCarron, and Gary Stevens.

All three panelists acknowledged the physical and mental toll of being a professional jockey. Besides the inherent risk of injury, there are also the struggles associated with maintaining the proper weight as well as being able to accept frequent rejection.

“We put more pressure on ourselves than any one person we have ever dealt with [has],” Stevens said.

Despite the challenges, the three panelists mentioned the reward of the human and equine relationships they were able to develop and the traveling opportunities they were afforded as a result of their careers. The group also delved into riders' relationships with owners and trainers and the process of securing mounts. They all stated that the key to riding good horses was developing positive relationships with trainers.

“For the most part, owners trust the trainer's judgment,” Brothers said.

The final topic of the panel was the whip rule debate in different jurisdictions. McCarron was adamant on the importance of having the riding crop available for safety, a sentiment shared by Brothers and Stevens. McCarron also promoted the work of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, which provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries

The next session of the series, “Racing Clubs,” will be held on Tuesday, September 7, at 2 p.m. ET. It is sponsored by MyRacehorse, the Daily Racing Form, and Mersant International Ltd. Panelists are Michael Behrens, MyRacehorse; Mary Cage, WinStar Stablemates; and Gary Palmisano, Churchill Downs Racing Club.

All sessions will be recorded and made available to registered guests. There is no registration fee for the live or recorded virtual conference series, but registration is required.

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In addition to the virtual series, OwnerView will be hosting an in-person Thoroughbred Owner Conference in Del Mar, Calif., on November 3, to coincide with the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Registration information is available on the OwnerView website. Registration information and schedules for both the in-person and virtual conference are available at ownerview.com/event/conference or by contacting Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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Veteran Jockey Mitchell Warming Up To New Surroundings At Monmouth Park

After seven years of struggling to get live mounts at Gulfstream Park, jockey Richard Mitchell decided it was time to change things up this year. But there was one condition to wherever he headed next: It had to be a track that raced in warm weather.

Monmouth Park's summer meet met that requirement.

The 49-year-old native of Portmore, Jamaica, says his stipulation for riding in warm weather is strictly a medical need – the result of too many spills over a lengthy riding career.

“I have so much metal in my body that I can't take the cold,” said Mitchell, who estimates he won more than 600 races at Caymanas Park in Jamaica before moving to Gulfstream in 2014. “I have a screw in my shoulder, a plate in my hip, metal in my face and pelvis. You name it I probably have metal there.

“That's why I don't travel to cold weather tracks. Temperatures in the low 60s are okay. But when it gets in the 50s or lower it just hurts too much. My whole body hurts when it starts to get colder.”

This much is certain: Monmouth Park followers are warming up to Mitchell.

After winning just 32 races from 831 mounts at Gulfstream from 2014 through 2020, Mitchell is 4-for-20 since arriving at Monmouth Park on June 27 and 5-for-25 overall this year (with another win at Parx).

In his best year at Gulfstream he won nine races from 235 mounts.

He is also largely responsible for Friday's six-race card offering the enticement of a $201,241 Pick 5 carryover that starts in the second race. During Sunday's early Pick 5 sequence, Mitchell booted home Quintarelli ($44.60) and then won with Fighting Heart ($52.80) on the turf, contributing significantly to the resulting carryover.

“Whenever I win it feels joyful,” said Mitchell, who serves as his own agent. “I appreciate the people at Monmouth Park giving me a chance. I wasn't getting enough good mounts at Gulfstream. It's very hard to break in there.

“(Trainer) Rohan Crichton (a fellow Jamaican) told me he would use me on some of his horses if I came to Monmouth Park and that I could also gallop for him. I saw it as an opportunity to try something new. I have been galloping for some of the Jamaican trainers here and have kept busy and now more people have noticed me and they have given me a chance.”

The four winners Mitchell has recorded at the Monmouth Park meet so far have gone off at 15-1, 27-1, 21-1 and 25-1. All have been for different trainers.

One of the trainers he has caught the attention of is Monmouth Park first-timer Rafael Schistl. Fighting Heart, one of Mitchell's longshot winners last Sunday, is trained by Schistl.

“He's hungry, experienced, light, needs money and wants to work – so I am hiring to work for me on salary and to ride first call for me,” said Schistl. “He's going to win 20 races this meet. He knows the game and he wants to succeed.

“I have already had some of the top trainers here come to me and ask about him. I told them all the same thing: `Use this guy.' ”

Mitchell has one mount in Friday's anticipated Pick 5 sequence, riding Misspotofgold in the fourth race for owner-trainer Clarence B. King.

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David ‘The General’ Gall, 79, Fifth All-Time Leading North American Rider, Passes

David A. Gall, the fifth all-time leading North American rider by wins and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of fame, died on Sunday at the age of 79.

Based for almost the entirety of his 43-year career at two southern Illinois tracks, defunct Cahokia Downs in Alorton and Fairmount Park (now FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing) in Collinsville, Ill., Gall rode 7,396 winners from 41,775 career mounts, according to Equibase. Known as “The General,” Gall twice was leading rider in North America by wins – with 479 in 1979 and 376 in 1981 – and led the Fairmount Park standings on at least 14 occasions.

At the time of his retirement in September 1999, only three riders – National Museum of Racing Hall of Famers Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay Jr., and Pat Day – had won more races. Gall was never given serious consideration for Hall of Fame status in the U.S. because of where he rode. He is the 1996 recipient of Canada's Avelino Gomez Award, three years after his induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

A native of Rose Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada, Gall began riding at age 15 in western Canada and ventured to Bay Meadows and Tanforan in Northern California. According to Bill Christine in the Los Angeles Times, Gall drove east in 1959 in an old jalopy given to him by a Northern California stablehand who owed him money, not sure where he'd end up. The car broke down in Arizona and he called his grandmother in Canada to tell her of his plight. She wired Gall enough money to buy a bus ticket to St. Louis, and that's where he wound up settling down, just across the Mississippi River in southern Illinois.

“He liked night racing, which is why I think he stayed there” said Mark Cooper, who was Gall's agent from the mid-1980s until his retirement. “He was one of a kind, had hands like you couldn't believe, and hardly ever hit a horse. You'd see him out there with his reins dangling and he won so many racing coming down the fence. He competed against guys like Shane Sellers and Mark Guidry when they were getting started. A lot of riders learned from him.”

Gall once won eight races on a 10-race card at Cahokia Downs and rode seven winners at least three different times.

Gall resisted the temptation to ride the bigger circuits where he might have gotten more press and had the opportunity to ride in major races. His only graded stakes victory, according to Equibase, came in the 1993 Fairmount Derby, then a Grade 3 event, aboard Adhocracy for Kentucky-based trainer Niall O'Callaghan.

“In my mid-30s, I realized I wasn't going to make it big,” he is quoted as saying in his Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame biography. “I never joined the rat race because I don't like rat races. I like horse races.”

Gall suffered a number of injuries during his career, but a 1997 spill at Hawthorne near Chicago was one of the worst, breaking six ribs, his back and jaw.

Following his retirement from riding, Gall trained at Fairmount Park for 13 years, winning 157 races from 1,523 starts. His last starter came in 2011.

Gall's wife, Mary, passed away about one year ago, Cooper said, and he is survived by a son and two daughters.

Funeral arrangements are not known at this time.

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Jockeys Across Country Pay Tribute To National Disability Independence Day, Fundraise For Permanently Disabled Jockeys

Jockeys at some 25 racetracks across America this Saturday will wear arm bands and participate in other activities to raise funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and raise awareness of National Disability Independence Day, which marks the 31st anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA banned discrimination based on disability in all parts of public life while improving the quality of life for millions of people with disabilities. Most racetracks will host activities on Saturday and encourage fans and industry participants to contribute to the PDJF at PDJF.org. The PDJF is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial assistance to approximately 60 former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries.

Racetracks along with their jockey colony participating in the promotion this Saturday unless otherwise noted include: Arizona Downs (Monday, 8/2); Arlington Park; Canterbury Park (Sunday, 8/1), Colonial Downs Racetrack (Monday, 8/2); Delaware Park; Del Mar Thoroughbred Club; Delta Downs, Ellis Park, Emerald Downs; Evangeline Downs, Fan Duel Sports Book and Horse Racing (formerly Fairmount Park); Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack (Tuesday, 8/3); Golden Gate Fields; Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino; Harrah's Louisiana Downs, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races; Indiana Grand Racing and Casino (Thursday, 7/29); Los Alamitos Race Course; Monmouth Park; Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort; Penn National (Friday, 7/30), Pimlico Race Course; Prairie Meadows; Ruidoso Downs; Sam Houston Race Park; and Saratoga Race Course.

About the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund

The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) is a 501(c)(3) charity that currently provides financial assistance to approximately 60 former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Founded in 2006 by leaders in the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industries, the PDJF has disbursed over $11.5 million to permanently disabled jockeys, most of whom have sustained paralysis or traumatic brain injuries. For more information and to donate, please visit www.pdjf.org.

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