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Jockey Jon Court Gets 700th Oaklawn Win Friday

Jon Court reached a riding milestone in 2021 at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., after all.

Court, 61, was poised for his 700th career local victory when he moved his tack to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in late April, about two weeks before Oaklawn's 2021 live meeting ended.

“(Seven hundred) will be my goal upon my 2022 return,” Court said in a parting text April 23.

Times change, but the number didn't.

Oaklawn announced in June that an expanded racing calendar for the upcoming season would feature a December opening for the first time in its 117-year history.

Stalled at 699 since April 9, Court reached the milestone when he won Friday's fifth race aboard Unbridled Twister ($6.20) for trainer Al Cates of Hot Springs. It was Court's second and final mount on the opening-day card, which drew an estimated crowd of 15,000. Only five other riders in Oaklawn history have reached 700 career victories.

“Isn't that amazing?” Court said Saturday morning. “It was so exciting. It gave me butterflies to think, 'Wow! I've actually made it,' because at the end of last year's meet I had run so many second and thirds, I thought I'm just snakebit.”

Court said his wife, Rosemary, reminded him that the wait to 700 may not be as long as he initially believed. Oaklawn's live season was originally scheduled to begin in late January, a more traditional spot, before the date was amended.

“My mind is programmed to think every first of the year we come here,” Jon Court said. “I said to her, 'That's right, I do have a chance to get to 700.' Not only do I have a chance, but the cards fell favorably. There seemed to be a useful sense of excitement for me to do it in 2021. When I left the meet, it was, 'Oh, man, I tried so hard. I'm one win away.' But it was fun. It's always been fun and there's a lot of energy and excitement. I'm just enjoying the journey.”

Court rode his first winner at Oaklawn in 1981 and was leading rider in 2000 with 69 victories. He has 35 career stakes victories at Oaklawn, including consecutive runnings of the $1 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in 2010 and 2011. Court won 11 races last season at Oaklawn.

Pat Day, the late Larry Snyder, Calvin Borel, John Lively, and Tim Doocy are the only other riders in Oaklawn history to reach 700 career victories. Day rode a record 1,264 winners at Oaklawn, his last coming in 2004. Borel, also a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, is still active at Oaklawn and had 973 victories through Friday.

Court said he has no plans to stop at 700.

“Full steam ahead,” he said.

Court is represented by longtime friend Larry Baker, who began booking mounts for the jockey last spring.

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‘Love What I Do’: Ageless Jon Court Carries On At Churchill Downs

Veteran jockey Jon Court is the elder statesman in the Churchill Downs jockey colony at age 60. However, the journeyman rider continues to ride at a top level and remains optimistic about the future of his career.

“I've been very fortunate and blessed to be able to have a body that still cooperates and to have live horses underneath me,” said Court, who had five wins through 28 days at the Spring Meet. “I know I'm at the top of the stretch in my career but that means I still have a quarter-mile left to go. I've been around the block for many years and love what I do.”

Court has won more than 4,200 races in his career that began in 1980 at the now defunct Centennial Race Track in Littleton, Colo. Court started his jockey career before eight of the current Top 10 riders in the Churchill Downs colony were born.

“When you get to this stage of your career, some of the younger riders come up and ask for advice,” Court said. “I'm very open and love doing that. It makes you realize you are very blessed to be in that sort of situation where fellow riders are asking you for advice. I'm very lucky.”

Court was named to ride six horses over the next three days of racing at Churchill Downs. Among his scheduled mounts was a 2-year-old named Curly Tail for trainer Dallas Stewart and owner Willis Horton. Stewart and Horton remained successful with Court earlier this year when he rode Will's Secret to a third-place finish in the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI).

“There have been many loyal trainers and owners who have stuck with me for a number of years,” Court said. “This game is tough but loyalty goes a long way.”

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‘I Still Have Fun Out There’: 60-Year-Old Court On Verge Of 700 Oaklawn Wins

The ageless Jon Court continues to make math simple.

The next equation goes like this: 3 + 697 = 700. That's because Court entered Sunday needing three victories to become just the sixth jockey in Oaklawn history to reach 700.

“I'm aware of it,” Court, 60, said late Thursday afternoon. “Actually, I was thinking about the 4,200 wins when I was riding down the lane. I was like, 'No one is taking this one away from me.' When I went to 4,200, I felt as good as I ever did.”

Court was referring to Catholic Guilt's front-running 9 ½-length victory in the first race March 14, which nudged the jockey's overall career total to 4,200. That ranks 63^rd in North American history, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. Court won another race on the card to reach another milestone, surpassing $20 million in career purse earnings at Oaklawn with the riding double that came a little more than 40 years after his first in Hot Springs.

Now, Court is poised to join Hall of Famers Pat Day and Calvin Borel, the late Larry Snyder, John Lively and Tim Doocy as the only riders in Oaklawn history to reach 700 career victories. Day holds the Oaklawn record for career victories (1,264).

“I just like Oaklawn,” Court said. “I like the town, the quality of racing. Just the allure keeps bringing me back. Many times, I've struggled, but I enjoy being here. I love winning here, I love being here.”

Court's first Oaklawn victory came Feb. 16, 1981, aboard Velvet Chieftain for future Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and prominent Texas owner Anne Dunigan (Bacacita Farm). Court, who rode his first career winner in 1980, was Oaklawn's leading apprentice jockey in 1981 with 10 victories. Save a stint in Southern California during the mid to late 2000s, Court has rarely missed an Oaklawn meet in the last four decades.

Illustrating the breadth of Court's career, Oaklawn's 1981 riding colony included Lively (he retired in 1991), Snyder (he retired in 1994) and Doocy (he retired in 2009). Day's first year as an Oaklawn regular was 1982. He won 12 consecutive Oaklawn riding titles (1983-1994) before retiring in 2005. Borel, 54, is still active and based at Oaklawn.

Court was Oaklawn's leading rider in 2000 and won consecutive runnings of Oaklawn's $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) in 2010 and 2011 with Line of David and Archarcharch, respectively. Court likely would have already eclipsed 700 victories at Oaklawn if he hadn't missed most of the 2020 meeting because of rib and lung injuries suffered in an accident going to the gate before a race. Injury free in 2021, Court had rebounded with nine victories through Saturday, including two aboard Kentucky Oaks candidate Will's Secret for breeder/owner Willis Horton of Marshall, Ark., and trainer Dallas Stewart. Will's Secret won the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 30 and the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) March 6.

“If everyone stays healthy and we're still having fun, the Oaks is the target for the short term,” Court said. “From there, I see her finishing up in Breeders' Cups. It's exciting.”

Horton has been among Court's biggest supporters the last decade. They teamed to capture Oaklawn's $600,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) in 2013 with eventual 3-year-old Eclipse Award-winning male Will Take Charge (the sire of Will's Secret), 2015 Martha Washington with Eclipse Award winner Take Charge Brandi and the first division of the 2019 Rebel with Long Range Toddy. Court, then 58, was reportedly the oldest jockey to ever ride in the Kentucky Derby when he finished 16^th aboard Long Range Toddy in 2019.

“It's very enjoyable to see what he's doing for the Hortons,” said Stewart, adding he was Court's valet in the mid-1980s at Louisiana Downs. “He's always been a great rider and a great competitor. He loves the game and he loves his job. But he just steps his game up for the Hortons and that's a plus for me.”

Will's Secret is among 28 nominees to the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) April 3 at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile Fantasy is a major prep for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) – the nation's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies – April 30 at Churchill Downs. Will's Secret worked a half-mile in :49.20 Saturday at Fair Grounds, where she has been based this year.

Court, in his pursuit of 700, was named on five horses Sunday. Court's career numbers through Saturday at Oaklawn included 6,367 (mounts), 697 (victories), $20,030,356 (purse earnings) and 35 (stakes victories).

Court said he plans to keep making math simple.

“No thoughts of retirement at this time,” Court said. “I'm going to continue to ride. I'm enjoying it. We always have the joy until that day comes. Like Pat Day, he and I had that discussion. He said one day he went and rode a race, a little stake, and said he didn't enjoy it. It was no fun. He was like, 'Maybe it's time to hang it up.' I was like, 'Man, I don't want to hit that wall.' You can see I still have fun out there. I have fun in the morning, I have fun in the room. Just going to continue to enjoy it until the day I know it's time to step away. I don't want an injury to take me out, some tragedy, that makes the decision for me. I want to be able to say, 'OK, you've reached the point and it's time to step away.' ”

Terry Thompson, who entered Sunday with 653 career Oaklawn victories, and Luis Quinonez (608) are also riding at the 2021 meeting that ends May 1.

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Will’s Secret Holds Off Pauline’s Pearl To Win Oaklawn’s Honeybee

Willis Horton Racing LLC's Will's Secret secured a place in the starting gate for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) with her third straight victory in Saturday's $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. The triumph was worth 50 points towards eligibility in the Oaks and put her at the top of the leaderboard with 60 total points following her other stakes win in the Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 30.

Updated Kentucky Oaks leaderboard

Will's Secret and Tabor Hall were within a half-length of each from the start, with the later having the lead through an opening quarter mile in :24.25 before the eventual winner took over after a half mile in :49.70. Will's Secret continued to widen her lead through the stretch and finished three-quarters of a length in front of the fast closing Pauline's Pearl. The winning time was 1:44.61 over a fast track.

“She broke really well today and we weren't pressured early on,” winning jockey Jon Court said. “She was comfortable on the front end and able to dictate a moderate, easy pace. Therefore, I was able to have plenty of horse to finish with and when I called on her, she was full of run down the stretch. It just worked out very favorably today. I want to thank the Hortons and trainer Dallas Stewart.”

Sun Path was third and was followed by Oliviaofthedesert, Coach, Tabor Hall and Willful Woman. Absolute Anna was scratched. Pauline's Pearl received 20 points toward Oaks eligibility for second, Sun Path received 10 and Oliviaofthedesert received five.

Will's Secret, a homebred by Horton's champion Will Take Charge, improved her overall record to three wins from six starts and she has now earned $343,300. She returned $6.20, $4.40 and $3 as the 2-1 favorite.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a 1 p.m. first post.

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