The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's executive committee has unanimously approved a measure to make retired jockey Ramon Dominguez eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2016. Dominguez retired in June 2013 after suffering a career-ending injury at Aqueduct six months earlier.
Hall of Fame procedures require jockeys to be licensed in North America for 20 years in order to be eligible for consideration, but the executive committee has the option of waiving the requirement at its discretion based on special circumstances. Jockeys who do not satisfy the 20-year requirement must typically wait five years before they become eligible to be considered for the Hall of Fame.
The requirement was waived in the case of Dominguez, whose 18-year career spanned from 1996 to 2013, because he would have satisfied the requirement in 2015 and would have been eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning this year if not for the career-ending injury.
“We appreciate the sensitivity of the executive committee and Museum director Chris Dragone in responding to his unusual circumstance,” said Edward L. Bowen, chairman of the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. “They all recognize that this is an appropriate use of the discretion given to the executive committee.”
Dominguez won the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and led all North American riders in earnings in each of those years. The Venezuelan native set a single-year record for North American earnings in 2012 with $25,639,432, which has since been surpassed by fellow Eclipse winner Javier Castellano.
Dominguez also led all jockeys in wins in 2001 and 2003 and finished second on seven other occasions. He retired with 4,985 wins from 21,267 mounts and earnings of $191,620,277. He ranks 17th all time in earnings and 32nd in wins.
The 39-year-old's career highlights include wins in the 2004 GI Breeders' Cup Turf with Better Talk Now and the 2012 renewal with Little Mike, who also won that year's GI Arlington Million; the 2011 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Hansen; the 2005 GI Wood Memorial with top sire Tapit; the 2011 GI Woodward S. aboard Horse of the Year Havre de Grace; and the 2011 GI Cigar Mile H. on Stay Thirsty. He has won a total of 41 Grade I events.
The National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame nominating committee will meet later this month to review the preliminary candidates and select the finalists for the Hall of Fame voting panel. The Hall of Fame finalists will be named in March and the inductees will be announced in April. The 2016 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Friday, Aug. 12 at 10:30 a.m. at Fasig-Tipton in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
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