jockey

Louisiana native Gerard Melancon became the 37th jockey in North America to reach the milestone of 5,000 wins when his mount in the eighth race at Evangeline Downs Thursday night, Reposado (Shackleford), crossed the wire in front by 5 3/4 lengths. The first time he had visited the winner's circle as a rider at Evangeline Downs was 37 years ago. Melancon's first professional ride was at Delta Downs in 1984. He has since ridden in more than 31,900 races and earned nearly $88 million in purse money. He had recently...

From a very young age, she wanted to be a jockey, maybe even one who someday got to ride in the GI Kentucky Derby. After all, she loved horses and both of her parents were exercise riders. Then there's her name. Derbe Glass is a 23-year-old 10-pound apprentice riding this meet at Monmouth, where she is trying to make a name for herself (pun intended). "I want to improve every day, get stronger, get smarter and learn the art of race riding," Glass said. "Hopefully, we will do well." Actually,...

Chris McCarron won his first of two Belmont Stakes in 1986 with Danzig Connection (Danzig) at odds of 8-1, unexpectedly defeating that year's Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Ferdinand (Nijinsky II) and giving trainer Woody Stephens the last of five consecutive victories in the Test of the Champion. The next year, he found himself on the other side of the fence aboard Alysheba (Alydar). Alysheba and McCarron had won the first two legs of the Triple Crown and were on track to complete the series when, coming around the...

With 10 days to go before opening day at Monmouth Park, preparations are being made to kick off the 53-day meet that begins May 28. Track officials are ready to go and so are the trainers and about 1,100 horses already stabled at the seaside track. But who will ride the horses? That question remained up in the air Tuesday. The New Jersey Racing Commission has passed regulations that will go into effect on opening day that will prevent jockeys from using their whips, except for cases when there are...

Jockey Trevor McCarthy is moving his tack to California later this month. A leading rider in Maryland, McCarthy began riding in New York this winter, enjoying a successful Aqueduct winter meet. As of Sunday, he was fourth in the Belmont spring standings. McCarthy will be represented by Derek Lawson, former agent to Flavien Prat. "I needed a rider and was not going to take one away from another agent here," said Lawson. "I recruited him. I started looking at riders who might fit out here, called him up, he made...

It happened again on Saturday, just as it seems to happen on every big day at the track. Irad Ortiz, Jr. won a race he wasn't supposed to win. When a race, in this case the GI Apple Blossom H., comes down to a nose at the wire and Ortiz is on the winning end, he probably made the difference. He's that good. Ortiz picked up the mount on Letruska (Super Saver) for Saturday's race, riding her for the first time. Still, it looked like the best the 5-year-old mare...

When Mario Pino began riding way back in 1977, he figured he'd stick around for a few years and then go off and do something else. Weight was an issue and he wasn't sure that he had the desire to keep grinding away. Forty-four years later, Pino, 59, resumed his career last week at Gulfstream and is determined to plug away until he gets his 7,000th win. He needs 39 more winners to reach that milestone, something only nine jockeys have ever achieved. "I'm just 39 away and that's why...

Late last year, retired Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez came across some revealing statistics. According to a Pew Research analysis, nearly six in 10 Hispanic people living in the U.S. are millennials or younger. In addition, a Nielsen report revealed that 94% of Latino males are sports fans and 56% consider themselves to be avid fans. A nearly untapped market was discovered. An idea was born: Exacta Box. [Elite_video_player id="2" html5videos_hd="https://player.vimeo.com/external/533174315.sd.mp4?s=aac49d93ce2ecda9ba4679e4f9e7166971cda9b5&profile_id=165" html5videos_videoThumbnails_jpg="" html5videos_title="Ramon Dominguez on Exacta Box" prerolls="https://player.vimeo.com/external/519962879.sd.mp4?s=9d576079a6a7a3ddcffa7f2eba1a769c2ca70def&profile_id=165"] "These millennials, regardless of who they are, they're into watching stuff...

Canadian jockey Todd Kabel, a seven-time Sovereign Award winner, has died at the age of 55, according to a press release from Woodbine Racecourse. The native of Manitoba won 3,306 races from 1984 to 2013, racking up nearly US$106 million in career earnings. He was 1986's outstanding apprentice, and was named Canada's outstanding jockey in 1992, 1995, 2003, 2004 and 2006. Kabel, who reportedly battled with personal demons away from the track, piloted two Queen's Plate winners (Regal Discovery, 1995 and Scatter the Gold, 2000) and one winner of the...

Joe Migliore never really considered a career outside of racing. With an Eclipse Award-winning jockey as a father and a mother who worked as an assistant trainer, to him, the sport was always more than just a popular topic at the dinner table. "I think it was pretty much ingrained from day one that this is the place I wanted to be," Migliore said. "It definitely started at the racetrack. I rarely had a day where I thought of anything else." Migliore first developed his passion for the sport by...

Former Jockey Larry Melancon passed away Thursday at his home in Louisville at age 65. He won 2,857 races with 43 of those being graded stakes with earnings of $60,629,774. He was seventh in all-time Churchill Downs win with 914 and stakes wins at the oval with 47. Melancon's top victory came aboard Bachelor Beau in the 1986 GI Blue Grass S. "The Churchill Downs family is deeply saddened to learn the news of former jockey Larry Melancon's passing," Churchill Downs President Mike Anderson said. "Larry was amongst the winningest...

UK jockey Harry Bentley has been granted a Hong Kong Jockey Club licence from Apr. 16 to the end of the 2020/2021 season, the HKJC announced on Monday. The 28-year-old, who has already booted home 1,002 winners since he was apprenticed at the age of 16 to trainer Gary Moore, has accrued 41 group and listed race wins. Bentley was aboard Limato (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) when he won the G1 Darley July Cup and G1 Prix de la Foret both in 2016. His minimum riding weight will be 118 pounds...