Tag: People

For 19-year-old apprentice jockey Luis R. Rivera, Jr., expert advice and criticism in his first year as a rider are usually just a phone call away.

On the other end of the phone could be his father, Thistledown-based jockey Luis Raul Rivera, or his godfather, Finger Lakes-based jockey Luis Perez.

Since they've combined for more than 30,000 career mounts and more than 5,000 career wins, the younger Rivera listens intently to whatever wisdom they're dispensing.

“After almost every race I talk to my dad,” said Rivera, who now splits his time between Monmouth Park and Parx. “He is always telling me the good things I did and the things I need to work on. (Luis Perez) is always calling me too, staying on top of me, telling me what I did good and what I did bad.

“I'm lucky to have two jockeys I admire who are there for me and helping me along.”

Rivera, who hails from Loiza, Puerto Rico, has been hearing more praise than critiques for his riding lately. Since officially launching his career on Jan. 1 – he won with his first mount at Camarero in Puerto Rico that day – Rivera has had 40 wins from 270 mounts with his earnings for the year approaching $1 million.

At Monmouth Park he has a 5-3-4 line from 19 mounts, sweeping the early Daily Double last Saturday and just missing a true triple when his horse was beaten a neck in the third race.

“That would have been my first time riding three winners on a card,” said Rivera, who has a five-pound allowance through Feb. 5. “I just have to work hard and be patient. Since I have been (in the United States) I am feeling more confident.

“So far, I'm happy with what I've done. I'm riding more and winning more and hopefully owners and trainers will see that.”

For Rivera, there was nothing else he wanted to do, having grown up around the racetrack. He spent last year honing his riding skills at Escuela Vocacional Hipica, Puerto Rico's equestrian school.

“Since my dad is a jockey too I have been watching and learning from him for as long as I can remember,” said Rivera. “I've been riding since I was a kid.

“This was always my dream, to come to the United States to ride. I want to dream big. I want to ride in the big races like the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup.”

Rivera moved his tack from Puerto Rico to Laurel in February, riding his first race there on Feb. 19 and winning his first race with his sixth starter a day later. He also rode at Charles Town before heading north to ride at Parx and Monmouth Park.

Breaking into an established and competitive jockey colony at Monmouth, however, has been a challenge at times, despite his success so far. He is listed on just one horse on Friday's eight-race Monmouth Park card.

“I know what I have to do to be successful,” said Rivera. “I am not afraid to work hard to get to where I want to be.”

The post With Extra Coaching From Dad, Apprentice Luis Rivera, Jr. Making Early Impression At Monmouth appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Florent Geroux only occasionally travels from his Kentucky base during the summer to ride at Canterbury Park, but it usually proves to be worthwhile. This trip was no exception: with three stakes wins, the panel of racing experts voted Geroux Jockey of the Week for June 19 through June 25.

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 Wednesday evening, Canterbury Park presented the Northern Stars Turf Festival featuring five turf stakes races. Geroux and trainer Jonathan Thomas, who was sending horses to Canterbury for the first time, teamed up for three stakes wins.

The pair won the first stakes of the evening with Fuerteventura in the Brooks Fields Stakes. Off as the favorite in the field of six and breaking from post position four, Fuerteventura settled in the middle as the field raced up the backstretch. Taking his cue from Geroux, Fuerteventura began to make up ground at the top of the stretch and dueled with Stagecoach Boys to the wire to get up just in time to win in 1:33.21 for a mile.

Next, the duo of Geroux and Thomas took the Lady Canterbury with Regal Realm. Off as the favorite but pinched back at the start, Regal Realm raced in the middle of the pack on the outside. Regal Realm came four wide into the stretch and rolled home to win by a length in 1:34.35 for the one mile race.

“I was very pleased with her,” Geroux said of Regal Realm. “She gave me a very nice kick.”

Geroux and Thomas struck for the third time in the Dark Star Turf Sprint with race favorite, High Front. Trailing early after a slow break, High Front started to pick off rivals on the turn and kicked clear in the final furlong to win the five furlong contest in :54.80.

Also that evening, Geroux finished second in the Curtis Sampson Oaks for trainer Brad Cox and third in the Canterbury Derby for trainer Mike Maker. Geroux also traveled to Thistledown on Saturday for the Grade Ohio Derby where he finished second aboard Bishops Bay.

Geroux outpolled fellow riders Gerardo Corrales who won the G3 Ohio Derby with Two Phil's, Tyler Gaffalione who won the G3 Chicago at Ellis Park with Society, Trevor McCarthy who won the Dancin Rene at Belmont with Kant Hurry Love, and Jaime Rodriguez who finished the week with 12 wins to lead all jockeys.

The post Canterbury Triple Nets Jockey Of The Week Title For Florent Geroux appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Rick Dutrow, Jr. used to have a unique message on his cellphone.

“Yeah, Dutrow!” was all a caller heard before being sent to voicemail.

It somehow fit the middle-age trainer, who exulted in his prominent place in  racing. He would walk into the paddock with unbridled enthusiasm. He had overseen the career of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown. He had won five Breeders' Cup races, with Saint Liam (Classic) and Silver Train (Sprint) in 2005, Kip Deville (Mile) in 2007 and 2008 and Boys At Toscanova (Juvenile) in 2010.

For all of the controversy that surrounded him based on repeated violations, his swagger was there for all to see. He did not hesitate to snub his nose at authority. On one occasion, he reacted to a suspension by jet-setting to Rio de Janeiro with close friend Ronnie Ebanks, a former jockey agent. Even as evidence mounted that he was a rogue, his personality was irrepressible and, well, he was one of a kind.

“Yeah, Dutrow!” Yeah, that was perfect.

“It was great. I loved it,” Dutrow said. “I don't know what happened to it.”

Now, a caller is sent directly to voicemail, perhaps the first sign that a 10-year suspension, one of the harshest in racing history, took a massive toll on racing's notorious bad boy. He was subdued and, at least initially, concerned about exercising his right to freedom of speech.

“I can't protect myself in the paper because if I say something wrong, I'll get stalked out of here,” he said.

But then his anger surfaced. With certain trainers being scrutinized after their horses suffered catastrophic breakdowns, Dutrow noted, “I went 11 years without a breakdown, I mean morning, noon and night. That's total horsemanship and they banned me for 10 years.”

Although all legal maneuvers were exhausted some time ago, Dutrow continues to fight the suspension emotionally. “I'm still appealing. I don't like what they did,” he said. “I will appeal it until I die.”

He did not deny wrongdoing but said, “I don't feel I did what they accused me of.”

Three syringes filled with xylazine, a legal anesthetic, were found during a search of his barn on Nov. 3, 2010. Rules prohibit possession of such medical equipment by anyone other than a licensed veterinarian. Stephen Lewandowski, a retired steward, in a Nov. 24, 2019, letter to the New York State Gaming Commission, said it was his understanding that evidence had been planted.

Whatever the case, Dutrow finds himself in the position of having to make a comeback at age 63. And he is finding it challenging as he oversees approximately 34 horses as part of an operation that is steadily growing.

“I don't think I forgot how to train, but I need to remember how to train,” he said. “Every day, I'm saying, 'Man, I should have caught that. I would have caught it.' It's a slow process for me to get back to where I was because I had so many horses in so many situations every day and you're on it, on it, on it.”

Dutrow estimated that, at his height, he conditioned approximately 140 horses based at Aqueduct, Saratoga, and Monmouth Park. His initial goal is to have full barns in New York and Kentucky. He had won 1,811 races with earnings surpassing $87 million before years of violations led to his livelihood being taken away.

Dutrow said he spent time at farms in Ocala and even ventured to Saudi Arabia but never trained horses while he was sidelined. “I was basically wasting my time, waiting it out, hoping they would consider a lighter thing,” he said. “But they decided not to.”

At least on the recent morning when he was interviewed, Dutrow was frustrated with himself. “There are things that I'm missing, no question about it. I'm here at Belmont and sometimes I don't know what horse I should be taking to what track,” he said. “There are a lot of things I need to be sharper at.”

As the trainer tries to establish a foothold against counterparts such as Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, both with massive operations, Ebanks is working to build the morale of his “brother” and former roommate.

“They broke his spirit,” Ebanks said. “They took his life away. All of his life was about horses and being with horses.”

Dutrow had built a strong operation and had grown accustomed to working with quality stock. He has a  long road if he is to get back there. He won with the first horse he started since he return when Prince of Pharoahs, a New York-bred gelding he claimed for $45,000, took the sixth race at Belmont Park on May 6.

He is winless in 11 starts since but has four runner-up efforts and two third-place finishes for earnings of $251,588. Although White Abarrio had been with him for only 2 1/2 weeks, he was extremely encouraged when that 4-year-old colt took third in the June 10 Met Mile. He continues to have high hopes for White Abarrio. Other runners have presented more of a puzzle.

“When something isn't right with a horse, then I have to be better at it,” Dutrow said, adding, “I don't have the same vets I used to use, I don't have the same foreman I used to have, I don't have the same assistant, I don't have the same grooms.”

Dutrow said he is devoting longer hours than ever before. Some of his previous owners have returned and potential new owners are expressing interest.

“All I need to do is win a couple of big races to get my confidence back,” he said. “I'm all in.”

The post ‘I’m All In’: Rick Dutrow Has Returned, But The Swagger Is Missing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Yorkshire-based jockey Joe Fanning has been rolling back the years to lead the 2023 Flat Jockeys' Championship in Great Britain.

Currently in first place, Fanning is competing with some of the sports leading talent who fill the top 10 places of the leaderboard including former title race winners Oisin Murphy, Ryan Moore and last year's winner, William Buick.

This season, the 52-year-old has been prolific and at the top of his game. Having won 35 of his 157 rides, Fanning is currently operating at a 22 percent strike rate.

Murphy, who won the Flat Jockeys' Championship in 2019, 2020 and 2021, closely follows Fanning with 34 wins with a strike rate of 15 percent, with Hollie Doyle chasing the pair with 31 wins and a strike rate of 17 percent. Last year, Doyle finished joint second in the Championship, the highest placing of a woman rider in the sport ever.

Speaking on the Championship, Fanning said: “I am really pleased with how the season has started, it feels fantastic to still be riding regular winners. The horses are running well, it is still early days, but hopefully I can get a few big wins along the way too.

“There is a long way in the Championship to go yet, but I am pleased with how it is going, and it has been good to be a contender in the competitive title race. I try not to think about the Championship too much, I am just enjoying it.”

Fanning's career started in 1986 riding for Irish trainer Kevin Connolly. In 1988, he moved to England and began working for Tommy Fairhurst in Middleham, Yorkshire. Since 1996, Fanning has been primarily associated with trainer Mark Johnston to whom he has been a retained rider for. Since Charlie Johnston took over his father's (Mark) license in 2022, Fanning has remained retained rider, and in the last two weeks alone they have enjoyed six wins together.

Fanning has ridden more than 2,780 winners during his career and celebrated success at Group 1 level three times. His Group 1 wins include the Middle Park Stakes in 2016, aboard The Last Lion, the Prix – Royal Oak and the Ascot Gold Cup, both on star stayer, Subjectivist.

Fanning has been successful in the All-Weather Championships winning the competition twice, in 2009/10 and 2011/12. Fanning has also been one of only a handful of jockeys to have won a race at every racecourse in Great Britain.

Doyle, who enjoyed three impressive wins at Royal Ascot last week, said: “I've been pleased with how the season has started. Royal Ascot is a tough place to ride any winner, so it was brilliant to ride three winners there, particularly given they were all for my boss Archie Watson.

“Archie deserves huge credit for producing his horses in such brilliant form at such a big meeting. Having Group 1 calibre horses like Bradsell to look forward to for the remainder of the season is very exciting and I hope that there'll be further big days to come.”

The 2023 Flat Jockeys' Championship runs from May 6 – Oct. 21, 2023, and is one of horseracing's most prestigious titles, having been won by some of the biggest names in sport, including Lester Piggott, eleven-time Champion Jockey, and Frankie Dettori, three-time Champion Jockey.

The post ‘It Feels Fantastic To Still Be Riding Regular Winners’: 52-Year-Old Joe Fanning Leads All British Jockeys appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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