Panamanian-born Hall of Fame jockey Manuel (Manny) Ycaza, who laid the groundwork for jockeys of Latin American origin in finding success in the United States, passed away July 15 in New York. He was 80 years old.
According to biographical information from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Ycaza began riding horses as early as age six and was riding professionally in his native Panama already as a 14-year-old. He also rode for a time in Mexico before shifting his tack to the U.S.
The first two-time winner of the prestigious D. C. International in 1959 and 1960–both times with the Cain Hoy Stable-owned and Woody Stephens-trained Bald Eagle-Ycaza was subsequently hired by owner E. P. Taylor of Windfields Farm to ride Canebora and the duo teamed to take the 1963 Queen's Plate. Ycaza added an American Classic to his resume the following season, guiding Rokeby Stables' Quadrangle to victory in the Belmont S. to short-circuit the Triple Crown bid of Northern Dancer, owned, ironically, by Windfields. Ycaza tasted further success in New York in 1968, piloting Dark Mirage to the first Filly Triple Crown, then consisting of the Acorn S., the Mother Goose S. and the Coaching Club American Oaks.
Ycaza won four riding titles at Saratoga and in 1959, posted 41 wins, a record that stood for 38 years. Though his aggressive riding style landed him in frequent hot water with stewards, Ycaza was selected by his peers as winner of the George Woolf Memorial Award in 1964, retired from the saddle in 1971 due to injuries and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.
“People say to me that I must be rich by now,” Ycaza said in a June 1960 Sports Illustrated article. “I say, 'No, to be rich is not to have only money. To be rich is to be warm in here, in the heart. If you have five friends, you are the millionaire.'”
According to Daily Racing Form, visitation will be held Friday, July 20, from 2-5 p.m. and from 7-9 p.m. at the Fox Funeral Home, 98-07 Ascan Avenue, Forest Hills, NY. A funeral mass is to be held Saturday, July 21, at 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs with burial in the Mt. St. Mary cemetery in Flushing, Queens.
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