Tag: People

There were plenty of wonderful moments on Louisiana Cup Day, the annual stakes card saluting Louisiana Thoroughbreds.

One special highlight was the victory of Cheapskate Diva who took command in the $67,000 Louisiana Cup Distaff. The 4-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom was making her stakes debut for breeder/owner Keith Plaisance. Ridden confidently by Carlos Marquez, the bay filly crossed the wire of the mile and one-sixteenth turf stakes in 1.41.92, defeating a deep field of accomplished turf mares.

It was the first stakes win for the filly and her trainer Joseph “Bobby” Felks, and while he was reticent about taking credit for her victory, Marquez and Plaisance gave him his due.

“I give all the credit to Bobby,” said Marquez. “She used to be more hyper, but Bobby has worked with her, and she did it easy for me today.”

Plaisance also praised Felks in the post-race interview.

“It was his idea to enter her in this,” said Plaisance. “Bobby felt she deserved a shot and to win over tough mares like Net a Bear and Fort Polk was amazing. My hat's off to Bobby!”

“Bobby is my middle name,” explained Felks. “I never really liked being called Joseph; everyone calls me Bobby.”

Felks was born in Chicago and is the only member of his family who desired a career in the racing industry. He had a summer job hot walking horses at Arlington Park and made his way to Louisiana when he served as an assistant for the late Edward J. Johnston. The respected horseman succumbed to cancer on August 28, 2021 at the age of 74. Eddie's career spanned 30 years with stakes winners including Pacific Pink, Zarb's Luck, Grand Basin and Is Too earning over $12 million.

Felks has eight horses in training and admits that he had his challenges with Cheapskate Diva. She made six starts at Fair Grounds with little impact.

“She was difficult in the beginning,” he explained. “I didn't know what to do to get her focused. The lightbulb finally turned on at Evangeline Downs, where she began to relax and showed more and more in each work. Winning the maiden $20,000 (on May 14) was a confidence builder, for sure.”

Marquez rode for Johnston and Felks named him on the filly and several other runners.

“It has worked out very well with Carlos,” said Felks. “He has won eight of nine races for me this summer.”

Felks reports that Cheapskate Diva, who reeled off four consecutive wins since May, will have some time off and likely make her next start at Fair Grounds. Her performance on Louisiana Cup Day was very special for the 53-year-old horseman and he remains grateful to Plaisance for his support.

“Training for Keith has been amazing,” stated Felks. “There is no pressure in developing his horses. I couldn't ask for a better owner!”

Matt Crawford, in his first month as Louisiana Downs racing secretary, also applauds the hard work of Felks.

“Bobby is a very dedicated horseman,” stated Crawford. “Whether you have eight or 80, training racehorses is a very demanding job. It's great to see Bobby win his first stakes race and we are happy that it took place on Louisiana Cup Day!”

The post Trainer Joseph ‘Bobby’ Felks Celebrates First Stakes Win On Louisiana Cup Day appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

A rider doesn't necessarily have to win a lot of races in a week or a major stakes race to earn Jockey of the Week honors. Sometimes just one particular win at a prestigious racetrack for a very special trainer is what it takes.

For jockey Jacqueline A. Davis, it was her first win at Saratoga that garnered Jockey of the Week honors for Aug. 8 through Aug. 14 and the special trainer is her father, retired jockey Robbie Davis. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, honors jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

Davis is no stranger to Saratoga having been born there and spent summers watching her dad as he rode the Saratoga meeting. She has ridden at Saratoga at times over her career that began in 2008 but a Saratoga win has been elusive. Davis graduated from the inaugural class at the North American Racing Academy near Lexington, Ky., where she earned an associate degree in equine science.

What better way to record that first win at Saratoga than for your dad and on a 24-1 shot named Vallelujah leading to a huge and festive winner's circle celebration? This first win at the track known as the Spa was certainly worth the wait.

“This means the world to me because it's my first race at Saratoga and for my dad especially,” Davis told Horse Racing News' Andrew Capone. “I know he won a lot of races here as a jockey, but us together – I'm beside myself, I'm so happy. I didn't know if I was going to cry, laugh or fall off after the wire.”

“I'm so excited, I just can't believe it,” a very proud Robbie Davis told Maggie Wolfendale of FOX Sports. “I've been on this filly every day, and Jackie coming in from Finger Lakes to ride. This is just incredible – the only thing better than this is the Travers.”

Davis's career has taken her around the mid-Atlantic tracks and also Aqueduct. She has been riding the majority of the last two years at Finger Lakes where she currently sits in fifth place with 33 wins. Last year, she finished in the top 10.

Through Aug. 15, Davis has won 790 races from 7,290 starts with more than $17 million in purses. She is the sister of jockey Dylan Davis and Katie Davis McCarthy.

The other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Tyler Gaffalione who captured his first Arlington Million, Harry Hernandez who won nine races at Canterbury, Juan J. Hernandez who won the G2 Best Pal, and Vladimir Jensen who won the most races during the week with 11 at the Tillamook Fair.

The post Jockey Of The Week: Jackie Davis Celebrates First Saratoga Victory In Style appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockey Wilmer Garcia fractured his C-4 and C-5 vertebrae in an incident on Sunday at Prairie Meadows Racetrack in Altoona, Iowa, reports the Daily Racing Form. The multiple graded stakes-winning rider will require two surgeries to repair the fractures.

Garcia was injured in Sunday's eighth race, unseated when his mount Sweet Holiness stumbled at the start, bumped another rival and clipped heels. According to the Equibase chart, the horse walked off the track under her own power.

Becky Esch, Garcia's agent, told DRF the rider is expected to make a full recovery, but will miss the remainder of the meet at Prairie Meadows. Garcia has posted 47 winners at the current meet, just one behind leading rider Kylee Jordan in the current standings.

“The surgeon said he's done this plenty of times before – did it for another jockey,” Esch told DRF. “They expect 100 percent recovery, but the recovery is just going to take a while.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post Jockey Wilmer Garcia Fractures Two Vertebrae In Prairie Meadows Spill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockey Carlos Rojas wasn't a typical newcomer when he rode his first race in the United States on May 22 at Monmouth Park. The 28-year-old from Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, had already won more than 500 races in his native country – including all of the classics there – and had been the leading apprentice.

That experience showed immediately when Rojas won with just his third career mount in the U.S.

“This is where the best racing is,” said Rojas, who the opening race on Monday's Monmouth Park card aboard Completed Storm for leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez. “I always wanted to come to the United States to ride and I finally got the chance. But I wanted to make sure I was prepared when I came here.”

With a boost from trainers Jose Camejo and Juan Carlos Avila, as well as jockey Javier Castellano, whom he befriended, Rojas took his leap of faith. He has not regretted a day of it, he said, making his presence felt with 10 wins, 10 seconds and 11 thirds from 74 mounts at the Monmouth Park meet.

“The best feeling in the world was my first win here (aboard Steadytillready on June 4),” said Rojas, who had his second two-winner day of the meet last Saturday. “It's everything you work for. I can't describe the feeling of winning that first race in the United States. This is just the start for me. I am trying to learn something new every day. I want to keep improving. There are a lot of good jockeys to learn from here.”

Rojas, who once had a six-winner day in Venezuela, said he finally feels comfortable, with his recent success bolstering his confidence.

“I did not know what to expect when I came here,” he said. “I am very happy with the way things are going.”

Rojas hasn't firmed up his plans yet for after the Monmouth Park meet, but he is considering the Fair Grounds, where Camejo is based.

The post ‘Best Feeling In The World’: Venezuelan Transplant Carlos Rojas Making An Impact At Monmouth appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post