jockey

Pietro Moran Named Best Apprentice Jockey

Pietro Moran has been named the Eclipse Award winner for best Apprentice Jockey. After launching his career in Canada in 2023, the 20-year old was named a Sovereign Award finalist for Apprentice Jockey in 2024. His 2025 campaign included wins aboard Mansetti (Collected) in the King's Plate, becoming the third youngest jockey in history to win the race. He finished the year with a record of 863-140-117-139 and earnings of $6,083,835 and a winning percentage of 16%.

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Sister Troienne at Gulfstream
Gutierrez Getting Reacquainted with Gulfstream

Edited Press Release Prior to riding his first race on the Thanksgiving Day opener of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, Mario Gutierrez hadn't been part of the action at Gulfstream Park since he rode Nyquist to a popular victory in the $1-million GI Florida Derby April 2, 2016. "I was going to stay in Kentucky, but I got a great opportunity from Mr. Brian Lynch to come here for the winter," Gutierrez said. "I'm extremely happy with the support I'm getting from the local trainers. I'm very, very happy. I'm relatively...

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Cristian Torres Hits 300 Career Oaklawn Wins

Jockey Cristian Torres hit a personal milestone Friday, Jan. 2 when he piloted Tiz in Sight (Tiz the Law) to victory against starter optional claimers, and in the process secured Oaklawn win 300 in his career. Torres moved tack to the venue in early 2021, and produced one of the best seasons in the track's history in 2022-23 when he finished with 100 victories and over $6.1-million in earnings. It was a single-season local record, and he joined a rarified group as Hall of Famer Pat Day is the only...

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Pioneering Female Jockey Diane Crump Passes Away

Diane Crump, the first female to ride a pari-mutuel race and also the first female to ride in the GI Kentucky Derby, passed away Thursday evening after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was 77. The news was confirmed by Crump's family on social media Friday via her GoFundMe. According to Equibase, Crump rode only 228 winners in a career that spanned 1969 through 1988. But her mark on the sport goes well beyond the number of races she won. Female jockeys were widely rejected in the late...

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Jimbo Bracciale in Maryland
Jockey 'Jimbo' Bracciale Passes Away at 72

Vincent "Jimbo" Bracciale, Jr., winning rider of 3,545 races--the bulk of them in Maryland, passed away Dec. 15, according to a release from the Maryland Jockey Club, which will hold a moment of silence and a video tribute after the first race Saturday. Bracciale was 72. Among Bracciale's many career highlights was piloting Ruffian to victory in the 1974 GI Spinaway Stakes and GIII Astoria Stakes. "I've ridden some good horses, but there was nothing to compare to her," said Bracciale said in a 1988 interview. He also rode Broad...

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Jockey Rajiv Maragh Rides 2000th Career Winner

Jockey Rajiv Maragh rode his 2000th career winner Friday at Gulfstream Park, piloting Lazio (Bucchero) to victory in Race 3. "This feels pretty surreal when you think about the whole journey since 2000," Maragh told Gulfstream media. "I've come a real long way. I've come from humble beginnings and to be able to achieve this milestone is pretty incredible. I've got to be really thankful for all the support I've had. You don't win 2000 by yourself. There are a lot of people behind the scenes." After a two-year break...

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Dylan Davis Expects to Be Out of Action for Another 2, 3 Months

Having been released from Northwell Hospital, where he was sent after a serious spill on Nov. 14 at Aqueduct, in which he suffered serious injuries, Dylan Davis is back home and expects to return to riding sometime in January or February. Davis was given an update and the predicted time of return by his orthopedist after a visit Monday. "It's better now that I am home," Davis said. "I spent 10 days in the hospital after that accident. I wound up getting surgery on my right collarbone. That was all...

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Turfway Park To Honor All-Time Leading Rider Perry Ouzts

Kentucky's Turfway Park will honor legendary jockey Perry Ouzts Saturday, Dec. 6, with a dedication ceremony officially renaming the facility's jockey quarters the Perry Wayne Ouzts Jockeys' Quarters. Ouzts, 71, has won 7,531 races in his career, ranking fifth all-time among North American jockeys behind Russell Baze (12,842), Laffit Pincay Jr. (9,530), Bill Shoemaker (8,833) and Pat Day (8,803). He also ranks seventh in the world in career victories and has ridden in a record 53,689 races. Ouzts is the all-time leading rider at Turfway Park and has won thousands...

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Jockey Dylan Davis Out Indefinitely After Friday Spill

Jockey Dylan Davis, who was injured in a spill Friday at Aqueduct, will be out of action indefinitely according to NYRA in a note released Saturday morning. Davis's agent, Mike Migliore, said that the jockey "sustained a broken right collarbone, multiple fractured ribs and a partially collapsed lung." Davis was aboard Tarpaulin (Leofric) when Heavyweight Champs (Solomini) fell near the three-eighths pole unseating jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. Tarpaulin made contact with Santana, Jr. and unseated Davis, who was placed on a backboard and immediately transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center....

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Weekly Rulings: Nov. 6-12

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Dates: 11/07/2025 Licensee: Elizabeth McCue, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Betamethasone--a class C controlled substance--in a sample taken from Prince Khozan on 9/30/25. Dates: 11/07/2025 Licensee: Robert Baze, trainer Penalty: 7-day...

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Hall Of Famer Pat Day To Be Honored At Derby In December Event

The Kentucky Derby Museum is set to honor Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day with the Museum's second Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Derby in December event, the track announced Monday. Held Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the free event, hosted in partnership with the Kentucky Derby Museum, Kentucky Derby Festival, and Churchill Downs Racetrack, promises a full day of festive fun and special unveilings. Throughout the day, guests can also enter drawings for exclusive prize packages featuring unforgettable Derby-themed experiences. Additionally, there will...

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Mike Smith and Nevada Beach
Feeling Like He's 40, Mike Smith Chasing Breeders' Cup History

DEL MAR, Calif. - At the age of 56, the legendary Bill Shoemaker guided Ferdinand home by a nose over Alysheba as the two Derby winners famously hit the wire together in the 1987 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Hollywood Park. The late Shoemaker has held the record as the oldest jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race since. Hall of Famer Mike Smith will have five chances to make history as the two-day Championships return to Del Mar for the fourth time Friday. The 59-year-old's Breeders' Cup mounts include:...

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