75th George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award Finalists Named

Junior Alvarado, Alex Birzer, Julien Leparoux, Edwin Maldonado and Rodney Prescott were selected as finalists for the 2024 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, 1/ST Racing said in a release Wednesday morning.

Presented by Santa Anita Park, the Woolf Award, which itself is a replica of the life-sized statue which adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area, is determined by a vote of jockeys nationwide. It can only be won once. The winner of the 75th annual prize will be announced in February.

Named in honor of the legendary late jockey George “The Iceman” Woolf, this year's list of nominees were all prominent in various regions, ranging from California to the Midwest, Florida and New York.

Best known as the regular rider of Bill Mott's two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero Cody's Wish (Curlin), Junior Alvarado immigrated to America from Venezuela in 2007, established a permanent base in New York in 2010 and has 2082 wins to his credit through Dec. 3.

Alex Birzer is a five-time leading rider at Prairie Meadow in Des Moines, Iowa and a four-time leader at The Woodlands near Kansas City. Through Dec. 3, the son of a trainer has amassed 3,826 wins.

French native Julien Leparoux established a mark of consistently at Keeneland Racecourse. He has 2,956 wins through Dec. 3 and was voted Eclipse Champion Apprentice as well as Eclipse Champion Jockey.

Unusually tall for a jockey at five feet, eight inches, Columbus, Ohio native Edwin Maldonado has been a regular on the Southern California circuit since 2010. He has pocketed 1,532 career winners through Dec. 3.

Rodney Prescott is the Hoosier State's all-time leading rider and has been a consistent top 10 rider at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Prescott has 4,112 career wins through Dec. 3.

Javier Castellano took home last year's Woolf Award.

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Five Finalists Announced For 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

Santa Anita Park has announced a group of five finalists for the 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, with the winner to be announced in February. One of the most prestigious awards in American racing, the Woolf Award, which is determined by a vote of jockeys nationwide, can only be won once.

Jockeys Joe Bravo, Glenn Corbett, Julien Leparoux, Rodney Prescott and Tim Thornton, riders who have plied their trade with distinction nationwide, comprise a select group of 2022 finalists.

Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the Woolf Award recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue of legendary Hall of Fame jockey George Woolf which adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area.

Regarded as one of the greatest big-money riders of his era, Woolf was a household name by virtue of winning the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap aboard Azucar on Feb. 23, 1935 and for his association with the immortal Seabiscuit, whom he rode to victory over Triple Crown Champion War Admiral in a mile and three sixteenths match race at Pimlico Race Course on Nov. 1, 1938.

Affectionately known as “The Iceman,” Woolf was revered by his fellow riders, members of the media and millions of racing fans across America as a fierce competitor and consummate professional.

In a move that had national implications, Joe Bravo, a dominant force in the Mid-Atlantic and in particular at Monmouth Park since the early 1990's, announced that he would be shifting his base of operations to Southern California on a full-time basis this past summer and hired locally-based agent Matt Nakatani. Long known as “Jersey Joe,” Bravo caught on immediately at Del Mar, winning 21 races, three of them stakes while finishing fifth in the Summer Meet standings.

A great judge of pace and conditions, Bravo, 50, won 13 riding titles at Monmouth and through Dec. 19, has 5,523 career victories dating back to his debut at age 17 in 1988. A third generation rider, Bravo's biggest career win came at Santa Anita aboard Blue Prize in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Hard work has been the hallmark of Glenn Corbett's career, which began in May of 1985 at Penn National. Corbett, 55, was born in Georgia and soon after graduating high school, set upon a career in racing that has seen him ride at 36 different racetracks in 18 states while riding more than 1,000 races annually a total of four times. A mainstay at Prairie Meadows in Des Moines, Iowa since its opening in 1989, he's also ridden at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz. since 1992. A member of the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame, Corbett, who considered a career in Professional Rodeo while in high school, notched his 4,000th career win at Turf Paradise on March 8.

Roundly considered one of the top riders in the world, French native Julien Leparoux, the son of a jockey who was born July 15, 1983 in Senlis, France, is a truly dominant force at Keeneland Racecourse. A leading rider at Keeneland 12 times, dating back to 2006, Leparoux ranks second by stakes wins with 66 and is Keeneland's fourth all time leading jockey with 507 wins. At age 38, Leparoux has 2,840 wins through Dec. 19 and has amassed $179,307,259 in career earnings.

Born March 8, 1974 in Portland, Ind., Rodney Prescott is the Hoosier State's all-time leading rider and once again ranked among the top 10 jockeys at the recently concluded Indiana Grand race meeting. After a stint as a groom after graduating high school, Prescott broke his maiden at age 20 at River Downs, near Cincinnati. A three-time leading rider at Indiana Grand (2004, 2005 & 2018), Prescott registered his 4,000th career winner there on Nov. 4.

A native of Lake Charles, La., Tim Thornton is very much a rider on the ascendency, evidenced by the fact he set a single day record this past Oct. 23 by winning seven races at Delta Downs. Formerly a regular at Chicago-area tracks, he broke his maiden on June 13, 2003 and registered his 2,000th career victory this past Feb. 16 at Delta Downs and notched his third consecutive Delta riding title in April. In 2018, he ranked second to Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz with 286 wins and was 40th nationally in purse money-won with $4.9 million.

With Gordon Glisson winning the inaugural Woolf Award in 1950, DeShawn Parker won the 2021 Woolf Memorial Award, thus becoming its 72nd recipient.

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Woolf Award Finalists Announced

Jockeys Joe Bravo, Glenn Corbett, Julien Leparoux, Rodney Prescott and Tim Thornton make up the list of finalists for the prestigious 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the award–named for the legendary and highly respected George “The Iceman” Woolf–“recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing.” Voted on by jockeys nationwide, the Woolf Award winner will be announced in February.

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‘It’s A Great Feeling’: Rodney Prescott Rides 4,000th Winner Thursday At Indiana Grand

Rodney Prescott, Indiana's all-time leading jockey in wins, hit another milestone in his career Thursday by recording his 4,000th career victory aboard We All See It at Indiana Grand.

Prescott came into the day needing one win to achieve the 4,000-milestone. He was scheduled to ride in five of the nine races, but it was a late pick-up that brought him the special win aboard We All See It for trainer Eddie Kenneally in the $34,000 2-year-old maiden in the fourth race of the day.

Starting from post seven, We All See It made his presence known early and was in contention for the lead in the one-mile event. Heading into the final turn, Prescott was able to take over and was on top of the field by more than four lengths at the head of the stretch. He extended his lead to over 11 lengths at the wire for the win over Ronnie's Vice and Emmanuel Esquivel and Rowley's Dream and Fernando De La Cruz for second and third respectively.

We All See It is owned by Rick and Ron Rashinski's Homewrecker Racing and Brad Anderson's Anderson Stables. It was the third career start for the freshman son of Street Sense, who was purchased for $250,000 at the Fasig Tipton Select Yearling Sale last fall.

“They didn't give me many instructions,” said Prescott, who has competed in more than 31,000 career races. “They said to let him break and put him where he's comfortable and set off the pace if we could. I knew we were in front quite a ways in the stretch before I uncocked my stick. I just wanted to keep his attention in case someone came flying up at us late.”

Prescott is currently among the top 10 riders this season at Indiana Grand. He has won three leading jockey titles at the track (2004, 2005, 2018) and has been among the top 10 in all 19 seasons of racing. A native of Portland, Ind., he began riding in 1994 and has competed in all 27 years of pari-mutuel racing in the state of Indiana. In all, he has won more than 1,150 career races at Indiana Grand and purse earnings in excess of $23.8 million. He also has several leading rider titles to his credit at River Downs and Turfway Park.

“When I started off in 1994, I had no idea how long I would be riding and if you'd told me I'd still be riding 26 years later, I wouldn't have believed it,” added Prescott, who is 47. “It's a great feeling to have the career I've had. I plan on riding a few more years.”

Prescott was greeted in the winner's circle by many of his fellow jockeys for the celebration. He was presented with a big sign to commemorate the 4,000-win milestone.

Prescott recently purchased a farm in nearby Franklin, Ind. Earlier in the day, his Rottweiler had 12 puppies at the farm, so adding his 4,000th win to the afternoon completed a good day for Prescott.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing concludes Thursday, Nov. 11. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11. First post all other Thursdays leading up to the end of the meet begin at 3:25 p.m. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.caesars.com/indiana-grand.

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