Tag: racing official

Hickman, Fixture of Texas, Louisiana Industry, Dies

Willie Stuard Hickman, who served in several roles in the Thoroughbred industry in Texas and Louisiana, passed away Mar. 15. Had been hospitalized with pneumonia and was 64 years old.

Born in Red Rock, Texas, Hickman at various times trained racehorses and worked in the racing office at Sam Houston Race Park for over two decades. As stall superintendent, jockey room coordinator and most recently, stakes coordinator, Hickman had lasting relationships with horsemen in both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. He also did an excellent job as jockey agent to rider Alfonso Lujan. One of the most successful Quarter Horse jockeys in the region for 11 years, Lujan won over 2,100 races prior to his retirement in 2018.

“Willie was a valued member of the Sam Houston racing office and was well-respected by our horsemen,” said racing secretary James Leatherman. “We appreciate his many years of service and extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

Hickman is survived by his daughter, Cheyenne Hickman; brother, Jimbo Hickman; niece and nephew, Chelsea and Justin; aunt, Betty Davis; and numerous cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Earl and Mattie Ruth Hickman; and his daughter, Savannah Hickman.

Services for Willie will be held on Monday, March 21, 2022, at 2 p.m. at Johnson and Robison Funeral Home, 107 W. Napoleon St., Sulphur, LA. Burial will follow at Mimosa Pines Cemetery in Carlyss. The family will receive friends on Monday at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the time of service.

The post Hickman, Fixture of Texas, Louisiana Industry, Dies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Former Jockey, Racing Official George Taniguchi Passes At Age 94

George Taniguchi, believed to be America's first Japanese-American jockey and later a highly respected Southern California racing official, passed away at age 94 following a brief illness at his home in Palm Springs in early March, according to his niece Donna Johnson, who had served as his caretaker.

Born in 1926 in the farming community of El Centro, CA, Taniguchi's family moved to Los Angeles following World War II and he quickly became enamored with acting—which led to a chance encounter with major league horseracing at Hollywood Park in 1950.

In search of a producer whom he hoped would give him a leading role in MGM's “Go for Broke,” Taniguchi high-tailed it to the Track of the Lakes and Flowers, only to be denied entrance to the Turf Club. Although dejected, Taniguchi soon liked what he saw on the track and was told to contact a quarter horse trainer in Bakersfield named Jimmy Monji—who would later train quarter horses for Ed Allred, who would later become the owner of Los Alamitos Racecourse.

According to Taniguchi, in a story published in Discover Nikkei on Aug. 10, 2020, it was Monji who taught him how to ride with a horse, not just on a horse. His experience with Monji in Bakersfield led to him becoming a freelance exercise boy at Hollywood Park in 1952 and then a licensed jockey in 1954.

Hollywood Park's leading apprentice and a winner of a career-high 230 races in 1954, Taniguchi more than held his own riding at tracks around the country with the likes of John Longden, Bill Shoemaker, Eddie Arcaro, Ray York, Milo Valenzuela, Bill Boland, Donald Pierce, Jerry Lambert and other top riders of the 1950s and 60s. With 203 wins in 1959, Taniguchi enjoyed his best money-won year, as his mounts earned $934,711, placing him 12th nationally.

A multiple leading rider on Pomona's half mile bullring, Taniguchi, who retired from the saddle in 1968, booted home a total of 1,597 winners from 11,354 mounts.

“My dad loved George and he won a lot of races with him at Pomona,” said trainer Gary Stute in reference to his father, the late Mel Stute. “My dad always said nobody rode that bullring out there better than George. He was fearless and a great judge of pace. I can tell you this, he was a great racing official also. He knew the game and he respected everyone.”

Among his biggest wins, as reported by Steve Andersen in Daily Racing Form, were the $218,940 Arlington Futurity in 1960 aboard Pappa's All, with whom he also won that year's Hollywood Futurity.

Taniguchi also rode Hall of Famer Round Table to victory in the 1957 El Dorado Handicap at Hollywood Park and in 1958, he won Santa Anita's San Felipe Stakes aboard Carrier X. A multiple stakes winner at Pomona, Twenty One Guns and Taniguchi also won the Del Mar Handicap in 1959.

Following his retirement, Taniguchi worked as a racing official at all major California tracks and served as Assistant Racing Secretary at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar.

“George was a good friend and a tremendous official,” said longtime Santa Anita Placing Judge, Bob Moreno. “He was always upbeat and he made the job fun. He was professional at all times and he knew the game thoroughly. A first class man in every respect.”

George Taniguchi is survived by his son Ryan and niece, Donna Johnson.

The post Former Jockey, Racing Official George Taniguchi Passes At Age 94 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Cancer Claims Life Of Daryl Parker; ‘Class Act’ First Black Racing Official, Father Of Jockey DeShawn

Daryl Parker, the first black racing official in North America, has passed away in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. The father of three-time national leading rider DeShawn Parker, he served as a steward at all three of the Ohio Thoroughbred tracks over the course of his career.

“I'm sad to let everybody in the Twitter and racing world know that I lost my dad Daryl E Parker last night,” DeShawn Parker posted on Twitter Friday morning. “He fought a long battle with cancer that took his life.. he's going to be missed but never forgotten!! He was loved by everybody that knew him.”

Daryl Parker also served as an exercise rider, pony boy, and jockey's agent before his tenure as a steward began in 1986.

“If you look up the definition of 'class act' in the dictionary, Daryl's photo would be there,” wrote John Engelhardt. “He always went about his business in a professional manner and lived his life surrounded by a positive outlook. In DeShawn, you can see that the apple did not fall far from the tree.”

The post Cancer Claims Life Of Daryl Parker; ‘Class Act’ First Black Racing Official, Father Of Jockey DeShawn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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