Tag: Nik Juarez

For Second Day of Meet, Monmouth Will Have Plenty of Jockeys, Horses

The Monmouth Park racing office appeared to have no problem attracting horses and jockeys for Saturday's card when entries were taken Thursday. A 12-race card attracted 107 entries and there are 22 jockeys named to ride. There had been concerns that the track would fall short in both categories because some of the top riders have decided to sit out the opening weekend at Monmouth because they are concerned about new rules that prohibit whipping in the races, with the only exception being instances when there are safety concerns.

“We are happy with the way things have worked out,” racing secretary John Heims said. “We have some really good races for Saturday. It is a very nice card.”

When asked if the absence of some of the regular jockeys was making it harder to fill entries, Heims said: “It's not a factor and it wasn't a factor for Friday's card either. I read a lot of what was written and one thing that bothered me was somebody writing that we had to scrounge up these riders. We didn't scrounge up anybody. That's not fair to the guys who wanted to ride and feel comfortable doing so.”

The jockey colony for Saturday will include some notable names who are not scheduled to ride Friday. Ferrin Peterson, second leading rider last year, has four mounts and Nik Juarez, seventh in the standings in 2020 will ride four. Both will sit out Friday's card because they were serving suspensions. Hector Diaz Jr., last year's fifth leading rider, will also join the colony after accepting mounts for Friday at Belmont. Seven of the top 12 riders in 2020 will ride Saturday, the notable exceptions being Joe Bravo and Antonio Gallarado. Leading rider Paco Lopez will also be missing, but will be honoring previous commitments he made to trainers to ride this weekend at Gulfstream Park.

The pool of available riders Saturday also includes New York regular Dylan Davis, who will be riding for, among others, Chad Brown. He has seven mounts. Davis was sidelined earlier this year when breaking his clavicle in a spill and has not ridden since March 20.

While there will be one six-horse field Saturday, there is also a 16-horse race, an 12-horse race and an 11-horse race. Heims said he could have attracted even more horses, but decided to only card four grass races because of the threat of rain Saturday.

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Davis, Vargas Transported To Hospital, Filly Dies In Aqueduct Spill

Jockeys Dylan Davis and Jorge Vargas Jr. were transported to a local hospital and the first-time starter Kiss Me Dave perished in a ninth-race incident involving three horses on Saturday at Aqueduct racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Vargas was aboard Kiss Me Dave for trainer Carla Morgan in the six-furlong maiden race for New York-breds when the 3-year-old filly by Palace fell approaching the far turn, sending Vargas to the ground. Tellaperfecttale, with Davis aboard, tripped over the stricken horse and a third rider, Nik Juarez was thrown when his mount, Maybe I Know swerved to avoid the accident. Juarez was not injured.

According to Keith McCalmont of the New York Racing Association media office, both Tellaperfecttale and Maybe I Know walked off. Kiss Me Dave was dead when veterinarians arrived on the scene.

McCalmont later posted an update on Twitter stating: “Per agent Mike Migliore, Dylan Davis incurred a broken clavicle and will be out indefinitely. Dylan is in good spirits & looks forward to returning to riding ASAP.” …”Vargas, Jr. still waiting on results per agent Jimmy Riccio, Jr.”

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Pricey Valiance Handles Switch From Turf To Slop, Wins Eatontown At Monmouth

Valiance added another dimension to an impressive start to her career, drawing away in mid-stretch over a sloppy track to win Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the $650,000 yearling purchase entered the Eatontown with four wins from six career starts, with five of those races on the grass. She raced once on the dirt but never over a sloppy track.

“I thought she ran great,” said Pletcher. “It definitely seemed like she improved in her training on the dirt so we weren't concerned when it came off. It looks like she handled it really nicely. He (jockey Nik Juarez) rode her very confidently.”

The Eatontown Stakes, originally scheduled for a mile and a sixteenth on grass, was switched to the main track because of early morning rain.

“I wasn't worried about the sloppy track with her,” said Juarez. “I got to ride a race on the dirt with her at Gulfstream. Todd had her in a stakes race in Florida (the Powder Break Stakes on May16) and it came off the grass and she ran on the dirt that day. So I was happy she had a dirt race under her because all of her other starts have been on the grass. I was really confident today.”

Juarez was able to sit tucked in behind dueling leaders Valedictorian and Gotham Gala in the reduced field of five through fractions of :23.85 to the opening quarter, :47.68 to the half mile and 1:12.60 to six furlongs.

Midway through the final turn he nudged Valiance to the outside and she immediately drew even with Gotham Gala, with Valedictorian starting to retreat. Gotham Gala tried gamely to stay with Valiance, but Juarez had plenty in reserve, winning by a widening 1 1/2 lengths. It was another 15 1/4 lengths back in third to Valedictorian.

Final time for the mile and a sixteenth was 1:44.25.

“We had a perfect trip, sitting right behind the speed,” said Juarez. “When we turned for home I was able to tip her out and she was much the best. She just ran away from them. I knew Valedictorian would go out for the lead. So I just wanted to wait with her and let her settle and we were able to do just that.”

Valiance, a daughter of Tapit, paid $3.80 to win as the favorite. The 4-year-old filly, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Martin Schwartz and CHC Inc., started her career 3-for-3 as a 3-year-old, with two of those victories on the turf at Monmouth Park. She is now 5-for-7 lifetime.

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Jockey Paco Lopez Looking Forward To Strong Competition At Monmouth Meet

The competition may change from one summer to the next but the goal never does for Paco Lopez. Once he arrives at Monmouth Park he does so with a single-minded objective: To be the leading rider.

With his right thumb fully healed following surgery on April 14, Lopez has his sights set on a seventh riding title when Monmouth Park's 75th season of racing gets underway on Friday, July 3.

“I want to try to win it again. I come to Monmouth Park thinking that every year,” said Lopez.

The native of Veracruz, Mexico, notched his sixth Monmouth Park jockey title a year ago, leaving him behind only Joe Bravo (13 titles) in number of titles won at the Jersey Shore oval.

But last year's finish atop the rider standings at Monmouth Park may have been his most impressive one yet. He didn't ride at the track until June 15 – six weeks after the meet started. Nik Juarez had built what looked to be a comfortable lead in the standings by then. Lopez caught and passed Juarez on the final weekend of the meet, finishing with 109 victories to Juarez's 107 in the closest jockey's race in track history.

The strong finish by Lopez included a victory aboard 14-1 shot Hunter O'Riley in the Grade 1 United Nations.

“You have to be lucky and stay healthy. But at least this time I will be there from the beginning of the meet, so maybe that will give me an extra advantage,” Lopez said. “I know I will try hard for it. Every year things change so you don't know what will happen. There are new faces, new clients and new challenges. You have to see what happens.”

Lopez will face some rigorous competition over the 37-day meet, with proven journeyman Victor Carrasaco, the 2013 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice, moving his tack from Maryland. Bravo is back as well, as are Juarez and reliable veterans Jose C. Ferrer and Chris DeCarlo, with Antonio Gallardo and Trevor McCarthy adding to the jockey room's star power. Gallardo, who had 65 mounts at Monmouth last year, has committed to full-time riding after recently capturing the jockey's title at Tampa Downs.

“The competition is very good this year,” said Lopez. “But I like competition. The competition pushes me.”

Lopez, who has more than 2,800 career wins, is coming off a career year, having set personal bests for victories (283) and earnings ($10.9 million-plus) in 2019.

He still sports a supporting brace on his right hand to help with his surgically-repaired thumb, which he fractured when he was unseated during a race on April 11 at Gulfstream Park. Lopez returned to riding on May 21, finishing third in the standings at the Gulfstream “Championship Meet” with 96 winners.

“I'm fine. I feel good. I'm ready to go,” he said. “I love being here every summer. I keep coming back because I love Monmouth and I love being in New Jersey in the summer. As long as I stay healthy I think it will be a good meet.”

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