Tag: People

Amber Florence was named vice president of finance and administration for The Jockey Club, effective June 5, 2023. She will be based in the Lexington, Kentucky, office.

Prior to joining The Jockey Club, Florence served as the vice president of Corporate Accounting for MiddleGround Capital, where she led the finance operations of the private equity firm's management company.

Florence's experience before MiddleGround was in the Thoroughbred industry. She spent 10 years as the chief financial officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and four years as its director of finance and administration. She was also a sponsorship and purchasing financial analyst for Breeders' Cup Ltd. and the NTRA.

“Amber's impressive background in finance, her experience in the Thoroughbred industry, and her passion for sports make her an ideal addition to The Jockey Club's financial team,” said Laura Barillaro, executive vice president and chief financial officer, The Jockey Club.

“I am excited to be back in the Thoroughbred industry and look forward to working with The Jockey Club and its diverse group of companies, charities, and initiatives,” Florence said.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It founded America's Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing, and in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, operates OwnerView (ownerview.com), the ownership resource. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

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Jockeys and Jeans, an all-volunteer group, will hold its annual fundraiser at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 24 at 6 p.m. and will honor Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale as its Person of the Year. To date, the volunteer group has raised more than $2.6 million for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), which pays a monthly stipend of $1,000 to 60 jockeys who suffer career-ending injuries. After the fundraiser this year, the group expects to raise more than $3 million.

“Mattress Mack” is the owner of three Gallery Furniture stores in Houston and is internationally known for his business acumen, philanthropy, community involvement and success as a Thoroughbred owner and breeder as well a major bettor.

McIngvale is famously known for picking up a $30 million check from Caesars Palace after he bet $10 million that the Houston Astros would beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 World Series. The event will reunite McIngvale with jockey Edgar Prado, one of 16 Hall of Fame riders scheduled to attend the event. Prado rode his horse, Runhappy to victory in the 2015 $1.5 million Breeder's Cup Sprint in a Keeneland track record time of 1:08.58.

As a long supporter of PDJF, he has long been an advocate for not only racing horses drug-free but improving their overall safety and well-being as well as those of their jockeys.

“Jockeys risk their lives every day they race,” said Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale. “And I think they need to be appreciated for the skills they bring to the sport. They make split-second decisions and are judged for those decisions. I think they deserve better medical care and should have a pension to help them after they retire like NFL players. I think they are racing's superstars.”

A legend in Houston and beyond, he opened the doors of his 110,000-square-foot furniture store in recent years to feed and house thousands of storm victims. There, he operated a child daycare for his employees and a vocational school that teaches trades to adults. A stroke victim himself, he helped fund the nation's first Mobile Stroke Unit, based in Houston, and donated millions to NASA to develop an artificial heart.

“Mattress Mack is truly one-of-a-kind, and I believe his acceptance speech will be something the entire racing world will be eager to hear,” said Jockeys and Jeans President Barry Pearl.” He is one of few persons who has been a successful Thoroughbred owner and breeder as well as a major bettor. He sees racing from a most unusual perspective.”

“I love horse racing,” said McIngvale. “It's an industry founded on hope, hope for a better today and hope for a better tomorrow. But I think it has to change, and I believe it will.”

Space is limited, but tickets are still available for purchase at 855-234-7469 or online at ticketmaster.com (http://ticketmaster.com) Single tickets are $125 and VIP tickets are available for $250. Nine-person tables are $1,800 and include being seated with a Hall of Fame Jockey.

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Jimmy Jerkens will take charge of his first runners as a trainer in Saudi Arabia as early as next week. The New Yorker has agreed to train for 2022's leading owner, HRH Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz. Known as the 'Red Stable', Jerkens will be responsible for some of the jurisdiction's top horses in training.

Jerkens has two Breeders' Cup successes on his resume, winning the 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile with Artie Schiller and the 2007 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with Corinthian. He also trained the 2009 Florida Derby winner Quality Road, who coincidently is the sire of 2022 Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road, and multiple Grade 1 winner Shaman Ghost.

Over the past couple of years, Jerkens has been struggling for winners, but speaking on the emergence of the opportunity, he said: “Joel Rosario's agent, Ron Anderson, called me and told me that the Red Stable were looking for a trainer for the upcoming season.

“He said: 'I know you've been struggling for the last couple of years, and I don't know what your prospects are here, but I put your name out there and they looked up your resume and they're extremely interested'.

“I didn't think much about it and he called me again. The more I thought about it, the better it looked compared with the prospects I had coming back to New York.

“It's expensive to operate back home in New York, especially if you don't have the volume and the quality. It had just turned into never-ending expense.

“A few years ago, you could afford to be a bit more patient and sit around and wait for things to happen, but you can only charge so much, and I couldn't really afford to wait any more.

“If you've not had any running and winning, you're dead. It crept up on us, financially, and how long can you afford to be irresponsible like that? You've got to look at it realistically, but I didn't want to give up training.

“This gives me a chance to work with some decent horses and not worry so much about the other side of it.”

The Ta'if racing season, which got underway last Thursday, runs until October, and Jerkens is expecting to take charge of his first runners as early as next week:

“There's a lot to get used to but everyone's been supportive,” said Jerkens. “My first full day of being responsible for the horses provided to me will be the Sunday after the opening three days of racing at Ta'if.

“I'm getting horses from two different trainers and we're moving to an isolated spot on the other side of the racecourse; all the other outfits are grouped together further away from us around the track.

“I've got plenty to learn, as all the race classifications are different to how they are at home. As soon as I know the horses I have and what their aims are, I'll know how to approach it training-wise.

“I think the horses, as a whole, look terrific and they're getting great care. Those are my first impressions, and those impressions are always the ones that stick in your mind. I'm happy with how everyone operates over there and the respect they have for the horses.

“It's a big jump now, no question, but I've got a lot of support and a lot of good help, so it shouldn't take long.”

The season at Saudi Arabia's premier track in Riyadh will begin shortly after the end of the Ta'if season and includes the world's most valuable race meeting, the two-day Saudi Cup event.

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Reigning Eclipse Award jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. did some travelling on Friday. After riding the first two races of the day at Belmont Park, he ventured the 180 miles to Penn National Race Course for Friday evening's 11-race card. Ortiz proceeded to win two stakes races including the Grade 2 Penn Mile. Ortiz then headed back to his home track for Saturday's card where he won the G2 Pennine Ridge.

The panel of racing experts voted Ortiz the honor of Jockey of the Week for May 30 through June 4. The award recognizes jockeys for riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

On Friday, trainer Joe Sharp gave a leg up to Ortiz on Heartyconstitution in the Lyphard Stakes for Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares, three-years-old and up. Off as the heavy favorite in the field of nine, Heartyconstitution settled in mid-pack. Ortiz gave the 4-year-old filly her cue rounding the far turn and the duo took over to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:39.76 for the 1 1/16-mile turf test.

Riding for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Ortiz was aboard Major Dude in the G2 Penn Mile, the feature race of the evening. Off as the 2-5 favorite in the field of eight, Major Dude tracked the leaders while in third on the inside. Major Dude was shuffled back but was then eased off the inside to make a four-wide move off the turn and edged clear through the stretch to post a three-quarter length win in 1:33.73 for the turf contest for 3-year-olds.

Back at Belmont Park on Saturday, trainer Chad Brown gave a leg up to Ortiz on Kalik in the G2 Pennine Ridge. Kalik went straight to the front and made every pole a winning one to take the 1 1/8-mile turf test by a length in 1:47.85. It was the fourth win of the day for Ortiz.

“There wasn't too much speed in the race and that helped him a lot,” said Ortiz. “He has some talent and he's a nice horse. I wasn't afraid of the distance for sure.”

Ortiz added another three wins on Sunday for a total of 11 for the week and $762,588 in total purses.

Other contenders for Jockey of the Week included David Cabrera with two stakes wins at Lone Star, Tyler Gaffalione who won two stakes including the G3 Regret at Churchill Downs, Florent Geroux with two graded stakes wins at Churchill Downs including the G3 Arlington, and James Graham who won the G3 Old Forester Mint Julep at Churchill Downs.

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