Jockeys | Horse Racing Free Tips

Report: Top Santa Anita Jockeys Hit With New Whip Suspensions

Not for the first time, Santa Anita riders Umberto Rispoli and Juan Hernandez have been suspended for whip use. According to the Daily Racing Form, Rispoli was given a three-day suspension for using his whip in an overhand manner during the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes on Feb. 6. Hernandez was also suspended three days for using his whip more than the permitted six times during the second race at Santa Anita on Jan. 31.

In January, Rispoli got his fourth whip rule violation in two months, making the most recent his fifth in quick succession. This ruling is the fourth for Hernandez in the past two months.

Numerous whip rule violations have been handed out by California stewards since Oct. 1, 2020, when new regulations went into effect. Jockeys can now only strike a horse six times during a race and no more than twice in succession and may not use the whip in an overhanded manner. Riders protested the changes at the time, claiming the restrictions would make it more difficult for a jockey to use the whip intuitively or to safely correct a horse they believe may be about to bolt or shy.

Report: Prat, Longtime Agent Lawson Split; Brad Pegram To Handle Book

Flavien Prat has split from agent Derek Lawson, who has represented Southern California's leading jockey since he came to the U.S. from his native France to ride full time at the end of 2014. Daily Racing Form reported the split and the fact that Prat's hiring of agent Brad Pegram has forced Drayden Van Dyke to make a change.

Pegram has represented both Van Dyke and Hall of Famer Mike Smith, but California rules restrict an agent from having more than two riders.

Van Dyke told Daily Racing Form's Steve Andersen he's “been swamped with calls already” but added that he was going to take a few days to consider options, including relocating to another circuit.

The change will take place effective Feb. 26, according to the report.

Prat did not give a reason for the move, telling Andersen, “I felt like it was time to make a change.”

The 28-year-old Prat has won numerous Southern California riding titles while working with Lawson. He is currently fourth behind Juan Hernandez, Umberto Rispoli and Joel Rosario in the Santa Anita jockey standings, with 19 wins from 113 mounts, a 17% winning percentage. Van Dyke is 5-for-49.

Now in his seventh year riding full time in Southern California, Prat has compiled 987 victories from 4,921 mounts with his horses earning over $76 million. He won the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard Country House via the disqualification of Maximum Security and has won three Breeders' Cup races.

Van Dyke, a 26-year-old native of Louisville, Ky., has been riding since 2013 and has 721 career wins from 4,530 starts for mount earnings of $45.5 million. Among his 18 Grade 1 victories is a win by Stormy Liberal in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

Pegram has close ties to the Bob Baffert stable, with Smith getting many of the Hall of Fame trainer's top horses. Van Dyke has previously ridden a number of Baffert's top young prospects. Pegram is the nephew of longtime Baffert client Mike Pegram and the son of longtime agent Jim Pegram.

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Gryder Named Vice President, Industry Relations For 1/ST Racing

1/ST Racing announced the appointment of Aaron Gryder as the company's first vice president, industry relations. Gryder will serve as a key liaison between 1/ST Racing and industry stakeholders to advance health, safety and rider reforms with a particular focus on jockey outreach, and as an ambassador for 1/ST Racing in California, Florida and Maryland to support and advance the company's mission to further develop its world-class racing operations.

Gryder, based in Florida, will report directly to Aidan Butler, chief operating officer, 1/ST Racing, and will be a media spokesperson for the company. He will also act as a primary point of contact for horsemen who are stabled at 1/ST Racing venues.

“We are excited to welcome Aaron to the 1/ST RACING team in this vital new role,” said Butler. “Aaron's depth of experience as a professional jockey and work with industry stakeholders is a perfect connection to ensure our communications and relations between tracks, stakeholders and the public is transparent, detailed and consistent. His extensive knowledge of the racetrack is incredibly valuable as we continue to elevate our safety protocols and promote 1/ST Racing.”

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with the forward-thinking team at 1/ST Racing to bring our sport into the future,” said Gryder. “As a jockey I conducted myself in a manner that displayed my love for the horses and respect for the great sport of horse racing. I will bring the same enthusiasm and work ethic that helped me to be successful throughout my career as a jockey to my new role.”

During a transformative time in horse racing, Gryder worked closely with 1/ST Racing to introduce and implement industry-leading health and safety protocols for horses and riders at Santa Anita Park. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked alongside Butler to bring the horse racing community at Santa Anita together to form North America's first sports bubble. This self-contained ecosystem allowed the hundreds of people who work on the backstretch, jockeys and essential racing personnel to keep the horses safe and active while protecting themselves, their livelihoods and the community.

Gryder is a highly respected retired jockey with over 4,000 race wins worldwide to his credit. He has wins in some of Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious stakes races, including the Dubai World Cup (2009) and the Breeders' Cup Marathon (2012). In addition to his decades long career as a professional athlete, Gryder has worked as an on-air analyst for ESPN, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, the TVG Network and HRTV. He has covered the worldwide broadcast of the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders' Cup and is widely regarded as an ambassador for the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.

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Lynch Makes Long-Awaited Return Following Injury: ‘Glad To Get Back On Horses Again’

More than six months since he last rode, journeyman Feargal Lynch returned to action with a single mount Sunday at Laurel Park in Maryland.

Lynch finished eighth on Stone Farm's Saintly Samurai for trainer Graham Motion in the featured seventh race, a second-level optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up won by Oxide ($12) in 1:24.28 for seven furlongs over a muddy track.

It was the first race in 200 days for the 42-year-old Lynch, sidelined with a condylar fracture in his neck and wedge compression fracture in his back from a fall in the third race July 23, 2020, at Laurel. Saintly Samurai, a 6-year-old gelding sent off at odds of 10-1, was making his first start since last July 17.

“It's been a long time; a lot longer than we thought it was going to be, but we got there in the end,” Lynch said. “There wasn't a whole lot I could do with back and neck injuries, so we just had to give it time and let the body heal and, thankfully, it's all come back good.”

Lynch ranked among the leading riders at Laurel's 2020 summer stand in wins and purse earnings at the time of his injury. He was unseated when his mount, Epitomize, clipped heels and fell leaving the backstretch, sending horse and rider to the ground. Both eventually walked off the track.

Initially fitted with a neck and back brace, Lynch was cleared to return to race riding last week. He began his comeback by getting on horses at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., and has continued exercising in the mornings at Laurel.

“About a month ago I went up to Fair Hill for Graham,” Lynch said. “He asked me if I'd come up, so I went up and rode a few in the morning and I've been getting on horses at Laurel ever since for Brittany Russell and Jeremiah O'Dwyer, Hammy Smith, and just getting fit again.”

Lynch is a two-time meet leading rider at Pimlico Race Course, owning 525 career North American victories and nearly $19 million in purses earned, according to Equibase statistics. He is the younger brother of Laurel-based trainer Cal Lynch.

A former champion apprentice in England, Lynch rode Caribou Club to a record-setting victory in the 2019 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3) at Laurel, setting the Dahlia turf course mark of 1:33.35 for one mile.

Lynch was also the regular rider of retired multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Irish War Cry during his undefeated 2-year-old season of 2016 that included a win in the Marylander, now Heft Stakes.

Represented by agent Chris Pipito, Lynch said he has rides lined up on Needs Supervision in the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3), Majestic Dunhill in the $250,000 General's Stake (G3) and Buckey's Charm in the $100,000 Wide Country on Laurel's Feb. 13 Winter Sprintfest program.

“I've got some nice mounts coming up next week for the stakes so that's been a good incentive for me coming back,” Lynch said. “2020 was a bad year for everybody. The main thing is the family in Ireland and everything is good, so I'm happy about that. I'm just glad to get back on horses again. It feels good. My body's healed itself. I'm looking forward to it.”

Notes: Jockey J.D. Acosta scored back-to-back wins Sunday with Great Go Go ($3.20) in Race 2 and Galilean Moon ($7) in Race 3, and apprentice Charlie Marquez did the same on Oxide ($12) in Race 7 and Hydra ($18) in Race 8 … Sheldon Russell also doubled aboard Acadian Girl ($5) in Race 4 and Gravity's Rainbow ($5.40) in Race 6 … Live racing returns with a nine-race program Friday, Feb. 12 starting at 12:25 p.m.

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