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Father’s Day: Churchill Horsemen Share Their Favorite Lessons From Dad

There are many second and third generation trainers and horse people on the backside of Churchill Downs. In honor of Father's Day, the Churchill media team asked several what advice or life lessons they have learned from their father:

Trainer Buff Bradley (son of late owner/breeder Fred Bradley): “One of the key things my dad taught me about horses was to have patience. When a horse needs time off, give them the time they need. In the end, the horses will reward you.”

Breeders' Cup Communications and Social Media Manager Hayley Amoss (daughter of trainer Tom Amoss): “He always tells my sister (Ashley) and me is that life is cyclical. It's not a linear path to success and you will have highs and lows. When you have the highs, take a step back and appreciate the moments with those you love, and when you're in the lows, grind it out because times will get better.”

Jockey Declan Carroll (son of assistant trainer David Carroll): “He taught me to always work hard and be positive. No matter how things may be going in life or riding, keep a positive attitude and work hard. Things are not given, they are earned. He gave me the opportunity to grow up from a very young age and learn from the start. If it wasn't for him I would be completely lost. He's there for all my ups and downs. He's my biggest critic and supporter.”

Trainer Norm Casse (son of trainer Mark Casse): “Dad always treats everyone with respect and I try to do the same. I feel like that, above many other things, is the most important thing he's taught me in life. Horse racing wise, the list would be too long.”

Trainer Greg Foley (son of late trainer Dravo Foley): “He taught me everything about being a horseman. My sister (Vickie Foley) and I grew up on the backside with him and he gave us the knowledge about horses and this sport.”

Assistant trainer Travis Foley and MagnaWave Specialist Alex Foley (sons of trainer Greg Foley) via joint text: “Of course, the easy answer is he taught us his sense of style. Jokes aside, he's showed us how to work hard, handle your business, treat people well and just try to not get too high or low depending on how the racing Gods may be treating you. He's been a great example of controlling what you can and being very consistent in everything you do.”

Jockey Chris Landeros (son of exercise rider Manny Landeros): “Throughout the ups and downs of our job, my dad always taught me to never give up. We go through many good times and bad but throughout it all he's always been consistent telling me never to give up.”

Jockey agent Jake Romans (son of trainer Dale Romans): “He's taught me so much in my life and continues to do so every day. When I first became an agent I remember him telling me to always keep an even temperament. There are many highs and lows of this sport and never get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.”

Jockey agent Brodie Wilkes (son of trainer Ian Wilkes): “He has always taught me to never stop learning. Every day that goes by you can learn something new. Then, he would always joke that the quicker I learn the sooner he can retire.”

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Newly-Turned Journeyman Charlie Marquez Keeps Up His Momentum At Pimlico

A quick look will show Charlie Marquez still on top of the rider standings at historic Pimlico Race Course during its extended Preakness Meet, a spot the teenage sensation has held for weeks, but a closer looks reveals one significant change.

Marquez's name no longer appears in the program with an asterisk, known as the “bug” in racing parlance, meaning the 18-year-old Columbia, Md. native has graduated from apprentice to journeyman. Nearly three weeks in, the transition has been seamless.

“So far, it's been pretty straightforward. I had to swap agents because they're not allowed to have three journeyman,” Marquez said. “So far we've done a good job, just trying to work hard every day and win as many races as we can.”

Marquez hired Tom Stift, who also represents injured jockey Alex Cintron, to be his agent after having success with Marty Leonard, who books mounts for champion riders Sheldon Russell and Jevian Toledo.

“They all have the stigma when they lose the bug. Trainers will all watch the first couple weeks,” Stift said. “He really had a great first two weeks without the bug. I'll get a message from a trainer and they'll say, 'But he lost the bug,' and then I'll show them a screen shot of all his wins without the bug and they say, 'Ok, put him on.' He's crossed that hurdle.”

Marquez won on the fourth mount of his first day as a journeyman, May 30, with Tusk for trainer Mary Eppler at Pimlico. Through June 16, he had a record of 7-6-8 from 51 mounts since losing his five-pound weight allowance.

During an apprenticeship that was interrupted for 2 ½ months when Maryland racing was paused from mid-March to late May amid the coronavirus pandemic, Marquez won his first race at 16 (Sierra Leona, Jan. 9, 2020 at Laurel Park), spent the final three months of last year riding in New York under the tutelage of retired Hall of Famer Angel Cordero Jr., and returned to Maryland to start 2021 and earn his first stakes win (21-1 Shackled Love, March 14 Private Terms at Laurel).

A son and grandson of successful jockeys in both the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Marquez has also dealt with his first injury. He emerged from an Oct. 10 spill at Belmont Park with what was initially thought to be a fractured right wrist but turned out to be a sprain. He rode three races Oct. 18 before taking the next four weeks off.

Marquez ended 2020 as the leading apprentice rider in Maryland with 58 wins, ranking seventh overall, and for the year finished with 71 wins and $1,981,358 in purse earnings from 531 mounts. He was not among the three finalists for the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice won by Alexander Crispin, also based in Maryland.

“Other than covid ruining most of it, I thought I had a good bug year and I'm just trying to keep the good luck rolling,” Marquez said. “I just try to study all the riders every day and learn as much as I can. Every day I just try to progress my learning.”

His dedication shows in Marquez's eagerness to ride at various tracks in the Mid-Atlantic region, and with the ease in backstretch restrictions he is able to go to Delaware and the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. to exercise horses. He also finished his studies and earned his GED to focus on his career.

“You can tell he's just got natural hands on a horse, that's the biggest thing. And he's just getting better. He's only 18, he's got a good future ahead of him,” Stift said. “He does whatever he's asked, he works hard, he's always early to the barn. It's nice to have a young rider like that who's just happy to ride.

“He's real family-oriented. He's very close with his mom and, bringing him up around the racetrack, you've got to give her a lot of credit,” he added. “A lot of times when they get to the track and they're young and win right away and get the money they get a big head, but he's just a nice kid.”

Marquez maintains a four-win advantage over J.D. Acosta (26-22) at Pimlico and is named in six of eight races for Friday's return of live racing that features a Maryland state record carryover jackpot in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 of $1,093,866.34.

“[My mom Valerie is] like my number one fan. She's with me everywhere I go. She's my right hand. I have to give her credit for everything that I've earned,” Marquez said. “I get asked all the time [about my goals] and it's always the same: I want to win the Derby one day and be in the Hall of Fame. That's just what work toward every day.”

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NYRA’s Brian Jabelman To Lead Third Session Of Racecourse Manager Online Certification Program

The inaugural Racecourse Manager Certification program, an online curriculum for turf surface maintenance personnel, will host its third and final session on Monday, June 21 at 11 a.m. ET, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and University of Kentucky announced Thursday.

Entitled “Measurement of Turf Condition,” Monday's two-hour session will feature presentations from eight leading authorities on racing surfaces. Brian Jabelman, Senior Director of Track Operations, for The New York Racing Association will provide introductory remarks as the leader of the session. In addition to Jabelman, topics and participants include:

“The phases of loading with respect to surface functional props.” – Dr. Sarah Jane Hobbs, University of Central Lancashire;
“Current tools and limitations for measuring biomechanical response.” -Peter is a PhD student in the Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering department at the University of Kentucky.
“Calibration and correlation – what kinds of things do we use to measure turfgrass responses and safety.” – Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Professor of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University; and Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D., Director of the Racetrack Safety Program at the University of Kentucky and Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces and Testing Laboratory (RSTL);
“Measurement of surfaces in British Eventing.” – Alison Northrop, Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England ;
“Take-off and landing areas in measurements of turf for appropriate biomechanical response.” – Jim Pendergest, Director of Racing Surfaces, Keeneland Race Course; and John “Trey” Rogers, III, Ph. D., Professor of Turfgrass Research, Michigan State University;
“Data from the Maintenance Quality System and the Equine Injury Database.” – Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D.

Individuals who pre-register at https://www.ntra.com/rmcp/ will be sent a Zoom link prior to Monday's webinar.

The Racecourse Manager Certification program curriculum is designed for those already engaged in careers with turf surface maintenance. The online classes are free. Individuals who complete the video courses and pass a test that requires a $50 fee will receive a certificate of completion from the University of Kentucky. Participating Thoroughbred racetracks that enroll their personnel will receive credit toward future accreditation by the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance.

The curriculum for the turf management course was developed by Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D.

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‘Old-School Guy’ Jose Ferrer Enjoying The Hot Hand At Monmouth Park

Jockey Jose Ferrer will often dust off one of his favorite expressions to make sense of having booted home an improbable longshot, as was the case in last Saturday's Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park, when he won with Informative at odds of 79-1.

One is that the horses can't read the tote board.

The other is that you can't win by staying in the jockeys' room.

These days, he may want to add one more to his list: Age is just a number.

The 57-year-old Ferrer heads into Monmouth Park's Friday twilight card as the track's leading rider after 10 days of the 53-day meet, with 16 winners from 56 mounts (a 29 percent clip). He combined for seven winners last Saturday and Sunday at Monmouth.

“It's been fantastic lately. It's an unbelievable feeling,” said Ferrer, who has ridden 4,575 winners in a career that began in 1982. “You get those times where everything goes right for you, when everything seems to click.

“That's where I feel I am now.”

Ferrer, who won his only Monmouth Park riding title in 2018, sees no reason his early success can't continue through the end of the meet. Overall, he has hit the board with 32 of his 56 mounts.

It's not as if he is riding a majority of favorites either. Nearly half (seven) of his winners so far have paid $12 or more and three have returned $30 or more, topped by the $161.60 win price that Informative produced.

Informative's victory skews the numbers a bit, of course, but Ferrer's average win price at the Monmouth meet is $20.60.

“I've had good stretches where I've won three or four in a day and then came back and won three or four the next day,” he said. “But to win the Salvator Mile, a Grade 3, with such a long shot and to win three other races on the card, two with longshots, and then three the next day … that's a pretty good stretch.”

Ferrer is able to excel at an age when most jockeys are nearing the end of their careers in large part because of his fitness regimen.

It's almost at the point where he is obsessed with working out. He says he is in the best shape of his life.

“I lift a lot of weights. I try to work out and lift twice a day,” he said. “I'll lift before I go to the track and on off days. I ride a bike whenever I can, too. Monday through Thursday I ride a couple of miles with my wife and (two) kids. I know I have to work twice as hard as the younger guys do. You have to put in the work.

“A lot of younger guys spend their time on social media. I'm old school. I don't have time for that. I need to work out and stay fit to stay competitive every day I go out there to ride. I have learned you have to work if you want good things to happen. They don't just happen because you want them to.”

Ferrer also enjoys the role of elder statesman that he has in the jockeys' room at Monmouth, always willing to pass along his accrued knowledge with an inquisitive young rider. In 2018 he won the prestigious George Woolf Award, which has been presented annually since 1950 to a jockey who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct on and off the racetrack.

“It's a blessing to keep riding this long and at my age,” said Ferrer. “I like that some of the younger guys come to me for my knowledge. I am always there to help if I can. Older riders helped me when I was coming up. So I feel like I should share my knowledge and experience.”

Ferrer, who hails from Santruce, Puerto Rico, has also made a seamless transition to New Jersey's strict no crop rule – an adjustment that would seem to be easier for younger riders not as set in their ways.

But the opposite is true, says Ferrer.

“It goes back to being an old-school guy when you would mostly hand ride in the 1980s and 1990s,” he said. “That's when you depended more on pushing a horse with the reins. So it's almost back to the 1980s for me and how I was brought up riding. The stick back then was the weakest link in your riding. I was always hand riding. You didn't use the whip until you absolutely had to use it.

“So this is my foundation. I came up hand riding.”

He also came up winning – something he is still doing, all these years later.

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