jockey

Jockey Miguel Mena was killed at about 7:36 p.m. Sunday night in Louisville when struck by a car. He was 34. According to the Jefferson County Coroners Office, which released a brief statement Monday, Mena was a pedestrian on Interstate 64 West between Blankenbaker Parkway and Hurstbourne when hit. The cause of death is listed as blunt force injuries and the manner of death was listed as accidental. According to Rick Sanders, the chief of the Jeffersontown Polic Department, which handled the incident, Mena wound up on the highway after...

Gulfstream Park stewards have suspended jockey Carlos Lugo for 30 calendar days for failing to persevere when riding Princess Tereska (Gone Astray) in the track's fourth race on Oct. 3. The 4-year-old maiden claimer was fourth, beaten 3/4 of a length for third, at 4-1. Click for replay. Lugo, who was 10 for 200 (5%) for the year heading into Friday's card while riding exclusively at Gulfstream, will begin serving his suspension on Monday, Oct. 11. The stewards said they will continue investigating the race in question.

The late Pat Eddery has been inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. Eddery, who died in 2015, was named champion jockey on 11 occasions from 1974-1996 and booted home more than 6,000 winners. A total of 4,632 were in Great Britain, a figure exceeded only by the legendary Sir Gordon Richards, who had 4,870. Eddery won 14 British Classics, including three Derbys with Grundy (GB) (Great Nephew {GB}), Golden Fleece (Nijinsky II) and Quest For Fame (GB) (Rainbow Quest). It was aboard Grundy that Eddery rode...

Following an agreement between 1/ST RACING's Gulfstream Park, the Jockeys' Guild and the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, Gulfstream Park will institute new house rules regarding the usage of riding crops.    The implementation of the new crop rules come into effect on Friday, Aug. 6. The extensive list of rules includes: designating when a rider is not carrying a whip; the crop may be used to maintain focus or for safety, but the horse must be given a chance to respond after two taps before trying again; crops...

Fern O'Brien booted home her first winner when Lord P (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) won at 25-1 in the VL Aesthetics Honours Shona Cunningham H. at Carlisle on Monday. Lord P, who races for Martin Breeze, captured the event by 3 1/4 lengths and hails from O'Brien's father Fergal's Ravenswell yard. She said, "It was a bit of a steering job to be honest. He's very good and it was just very easy, I didn't need to do much more than push the button. I did my pony amateur course...

The fifth-leading rider of all time in wins, David Gall passed away Sunday at the age of 79. The news was confirmed by his former agent, Mark Cooper. Riding primarily at Fairmount Park (now known as Fanduel Sportsbook & Horse Racing) and now-defunct Cahokia Downs, two lower-level Illinois tracks that serve the St. Louis area, Gall rode for 43 years and piled up 7,369 wins, more than Hall of Famers like Chris McCarron, Angel Cordero Jr. and Jorge Velasquez. Yet, because he never ventured to the major tracks, Gall's accomplishments...

Midlantic-based rider Sheldon Russell secured the 1,500th win of his career when he captured Pimlico Race Course's $100,000 Alma North S. with 1-9 favorite Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad) Saturday. The 4-year-old filly, who is owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables, is trained by Russell's wife, Brittany. "I'm just very happy that we got it out of the way, and for it to happen on Hello Beautiful," said Russell. "She's been a great filly throughout my career, she's given me some great wins....

A GoFundMe.com campaign has been started for jockey Vince Halliday, who suffered serious injuries in a July 15 race at Delaware Park. According to his wife, Stephanie Pastore, Halliday's injuries include: two small brain bleeds, a C-4 neck fracture, several thoracic fractures, a sternum fracture, a scapular fracture and a broken elbow. Riding the filly Tua (Normandy Invasion) in a maiden claiming race, Halliday went down when his mount clipped heels with another horse. Pastore said that while there have been no signs of paralysis, Halliday has a difficult period...

Jockey Eduardo Gutierrez-Sosa, who rode primarily on the mixed-meet circuit in the Pacific Northwest, was killed in the first race of the season at the Crooked River Roundup July 14 when his Quarter Horse mount hit the inner rail and catapulted Gutierrez-Sosa headfirst into the infield, possibly after first hitting the rail. The Central Oregonian news outlet reported that the fairgrounds grandstand was packed with enthusiastic fans cheering on the return of racing, which had been cancelled last year because of the pandemic. Most were at first unaware that a...

Classic-winning jockey Eric Eldin passed away at 89 on Sunday, Racing Post reported. Apprenticed to Ryan Jarvis, Eldin rode his first winner, Penfair (GB) (Fair Trial {GB}), in 1950, and his greatest win as a reinsman was aboard Front Row (Ire) (Epaulette {GB}), in the Irish 1000 Guineas. The Yorkshireman was also in the saddle for Lucasland (GB) (Lucero {Ire})'s wins in the 1966 July Cup and Diadem S. Abroad, Eldin also rode Derby winners in India and the Netherlands. All told, Eldin celebrated about 1,200 winners before hanging up...

With one day of racing remaining at the spring meet, jockey Tyler Gaffalione secured his fourth-straight title at Churchill Downs and fifth overall. Through 37 days of racing, the 26-year-old recorded 47 wins from 215 starters. He led second-place Ricardo Santana, Jr. by 17 wins at the end of Friday's card. "We've been extremely fortunate to ride some top-class horses this meet," Gaffalione said. "It's been a wild meet overall but very successful. I'm very grateful to everyone who helped me get to this point." Following Saturday's closing day card,...

In less than five weeks, the King of Saratoga will head north to return to his kingdom in Upstate New York. But for now, Hall of Famer Angel Cordero, Jr. is busy at Belmont Park as the jockey agent for up-and-coming young rider Manny Franco. These days, it's not easy to make it to the top of the jockey ranks in New York, according to Cordero. "Fortunately, we have something happening here that didn't happen for a long time anywhere," he said. "We have the top nine or 10 riders...