Corey Lanerie, Keeneland's sixth leading rider of all time by wins, will secure his 5,000th career victory if Manny Wah wins the $350,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2) on Friday's opening day of the Keeneland Fall Meet. The duo won the race last year.
A longtime regular on the Kentucky circuit, Lanerie rode his first winner at Keeneland during the 2000 Fall Meet and was the track's leading jockey of the 2015 Fall Meet. He has won 13 stakes here, including three victories in the Central Bank Ashland (G1) – aboard Hooh Why (2009), Weep No More (2016) and Sailor's Valentine (2017) – and the 2015 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) on Brody's Cause.
Lanerie, a Louisville resident, also has captured numerous Churchill Downs titles. In 2014, he won the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, which “honors riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.”
Lanerie, 48, grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, a region known for its horse racing culture and the starting point for some of the sport's most successful riders. His grandfather was a trainer and his father was a jockey and trainer. Lanerie honed his riding skills at informal weekend race meets before launching his professional career in 1991 and winning his first race that year at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana.
Only 37 North American jockeys have won 5,000 races. Among jockeys listed as active, Lanerie is 12th behind Perry Ouzts (7,417 wins as of Oct. 3) and John Velazquez (6,537). The overall leader is Russell Baze (12,842) followed by Laffit Pincay Jr. (9,530), Bill Shoemaker (8,833), Pat Day (8,803) and Ouzts.
Maryellen McAuliffe McEwan, beloved matriarch of Fenwick Farm, died peacefully at her home in Camden, S.C., on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. She was a centenarian.
Born in Welland, Ontario, Canada, Maryellen was one of five children born to William and Mary McAuliffe. She graduated with a degree in Library Studies from the University of Saint Michael's College in Toronto.
In 1952, she married US Marine Corps Lt. Col (ret.) Frederick Joseph McEwan and traveled the world raising their three children. In 1977, they broke ground on what would eventually become the premier Thoroughbred Training Center in Camden.
Maryellen dedicated her time and talent to her family and the equestrian industry as a world-class trainer of people and horses — to include Olympians and racing royalty. Her passion showed in everything she did. Maryellen trained Thoroughbreds into her 90s and remained part of her family's business as a Consultant to Fenwick Farm (now Fenwick Equestrian) for over half a century.
She was a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Camden, member of Springdale Hall Club, a dedicated military spouse, the consummate hostess, and a friend to people and animals.
She is survived by her children: Wilhelmina and Frederick McEwan of Rembert, S.C.; Mary McEwan of Louisville, Ky.; granddaughter, Victoria McEwan of Lexington, Ky.; and many nieces and nephews.
A private mass for Maryellen will be held at OLPH in Camden. an inurnment will follow in Canada with her parents.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in memory of Maryellen to the Kershaw Country Library, 1304 Broad Street, Camden, SC 29020. Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
QIPCO British Champions Series has named two of horseracing's greats, American jockey Steve Cauthen and 1980s racing sensation Pebbles, to be inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, the official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing.
Both inductees will be recognised with a special presentation moment on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday, Oct. 21, with Cauthen making one of just a handful of trips back to the UK since his retirement to attend.
Popular jockey Steve Cauthen, who Frankie Dettori has openly spoken of as being his idol, becomes just the fifth jockey to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, his astounding achievements on UK soil making him eligible for induction. Meanwhile, Pebbles becomes the first filly to be inducted, her exploits earning her a rightful place alongside equine superstars including Frankel and Galileo.
Indeed, Cauthen and Pebbles combined for a historic success in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park in 1985, as the latter also became the first filly to win the race in its 99-year history at that stage.
Cauthen, now 63, was a teenage sensation in America who then came, saw, and conquered Great Britain. His exploits include being the only jockey to have ever ridden the winner of both The Derby and Kentucky Derby and becoming the youngest jockey to win the US Triple Crown – a feat which saw him become the only jockey ever to appear on the front cover of Time magazine, which he did so alongside boxer Mohammed Ali.
On British soil, he was crowned Champion Jockey three times and rode the winners of ten English Classics, all but one for Hall of Fame trainer Sir Henry Cecil, including two Derby winners in Slip Anchor and Reference Point. His lucid interviews also gave British fans an insight into the sport quite like never before.
Speaking of his induction, Cauthen said: “I'm grateful to have had so many brilliant opportunities on both sides of the pond and to still be recognised for my achievements is really quite special to me.
“Having been inducted into America's Hall of Fame some years back, it's an honour to now celebrate my induction into Great Britain's Hall of Fame, and I'm looking forward to marking this moment with family and friends on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot later this month.”
Pebbles meanwhile, conquered quirks, setbacks and top-quality rivals on her way to ground-breaking triumphs in the mid-1980s, her sporting prowess leading her to become the first British-trained winner at the Breeders' Cup in 1985, when she landed the Turf at Aqueduct in a record time.
But she had scaled dizzy heights long before that spectacular night in New York, which proved to be the final act of an eventful career on and off the racecourse. There had been a commanding victory in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket the year before, plus a breath-taking annihilation of a star-studded field in the Champion Stakes back on the Rowley Mile three weeks before she took America by storm. In between, she had also become the first filly to win the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park, testament to the skill and cunning of Clive Brittain, her popular trainer.
Speaking following news of Pebbles' induction, Newmarket-based Brittain said: “I first saw Pebbles about two days after she was born, and I knew even then that there was something special about her. I used to go and see her in the paddock at weekends, where she was always taking charge of the others – she had such great spirit.
“I still think about her today and can see her fresh in my mind, particularly with her boyfriend, Come On The Blues. Theirs was a great love story and he accompanied her wherever she went – even travelling out to America with her for the Breeders' Cup Turf. That day was the only time that I've been racing and felt nervous, but I just did the same as we'd have done at home and it all worked out.
“Pebbles was 100% racehorse and she was simply a pleasure to train. I'm so very pleased to see her inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame and I'm also very proud to have played a part in her success.”
Speaking on behalf of Godolphin, the racing operation owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, Pebbles' owner, Managing Director Hugh Anderson added: “Pebbles was a uniquely talented and very tough racehorse with an outstanding race record. Amongst numerous victories, she won the 1000 Guineas, the Champion Stakes, the Eclipse and a Breeders Cup turf, beating the very best horses of either sex in Europe and the USA.
“She truly was one of the best racehorses of the 1980s and a flagbearer for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed's racing operation at the time. She is a very deserving inductee to the Hall of Fame and His Highness is delighted to see her achievements recognised in this way.”
These inductions round off an incredible season of talent to be celebrated within the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, with Sir Michael Stoute, Sea the Stars, Stradivarius and Prince Khalid Abdullah having also been inducted during this year's QIPCO British Champions Series, bringing the total number of inductees to 20, all of whom have been recognised within a three-year period since the Hall of Fame's inception in April 2021.
The Hall of Fame website reflects these incredible stories, whilst racing fans are also encouraged to visit the Hall of Fame exhibition within the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket for rarely-seen-before artefacts and interactive experiences that help bring some of these heroic stories to life.
Perennial Santa Anita leading rider, Juan Hernandez wasted little time laying claim to the jockey title for the Autumn Meet. Posting three graded stakes wins over opening weekend, the panel of racing experts voted Hernandez Jockey of the Week for Sept. 25 through Oct. 1.
The honor 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 Saturday, trainer Mark Glatt gave a leg up to Hernandez aboard Dr. Schivel in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship for 3-year-olds and up. Off as the 2-1 favorite in the field of nine, Dr. Schivel bobbled slightly at the start and raced in third behind early pacesetters, Sir Atticus, and Speed Boat Beach. Turning for home it was Dr. Schivel and Speed Boat Beach in a duel down the stretch with Dr. Schivel prevailing by a head in 1:08.49 for six furlongs over a wet fast track.
“He broke a step slow but, after the first sixteenth, he got me there,” Hernandez said. “He was really game today. My horse was really brave.”
Also on Saturday, Hernandez had the call for the first time on Hong Kong Harry for trainer Phil D'Amato in the G2 City of Hope Mile for 3-year-olds and up. Off as the even-money favorite in the field of nine, Hong Kong Harry raced along on the rail saving ground around the first turn and up the backstretch. Hong Kong Harry found running room at the top of the lane and went on the win in 1:33.77.
“He had a really nice trip, this horse was sharp today,” Hernandez said. “Out of the gate, he was pulling and pulling. He's a professional. He does everything himself.”
Riding for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Sunday, Hernandez had the mount on Adare Manor in the G2 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. Clearly the class of the compact field of four, Adare Manor lead from start to finish to post her fifth win in a row by five and one-quarter lengths in 1:43.70.
“Today all the credit goes to my filly, Bob (Baffert) and his team they brought her today,” Hernandez said. “She was just galloping around on the lead and I didn't do much today.”
With a total of seven wins at Santa Anita for the week, Hernandez is in his usual spot at the top of the jockey standings.
Other contenders for Jockey of the Week included Junior Alvarado with two graded stakes wins at Belmont at the Big A, Tyler Gaffalione with 10 wins and the leading rider title at Churchill Downs as well as setting a record for number of wins at the Fall Meet, Mario Gutierrez who won the G1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita, and Kevin Roman who won two stakes races at Prairie Meadows.
