Jockey Ramon Vazquez reached an Oaklawn Park milestone on last Friday's card when he captured the sixth race, becoming the 11th rider in the track's history to reach 500 local victories.
Riding regularly at the venue since 2012, Vazquez steered Cur Non (Coal Front) in a $16,000 claiming sprint in what was his second win on the card and ninth in the last three racing days. He had first call on five winners the previous Monday to equal a local career high.
“I had never been here before [having been based in Kentucky],” Vazquez said Saturday morning. “[Then agent Steve Elzey] told me to try it and now I'm in love with this track.”
Vazquez sits second in the rider standings with 28 victories behind Cristian Torres with 29, and seeks to break through with his first Oaklawn title after being in the top five in 2015, '16, '17, '19, and '25. The jockey already claims riding titles at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos, Prairie Meadows, Lone Star Park, and Remington Park.
“Second, third, second,” Vazquez said, referring to his Oaklawn career resume. “That's my dream, honestly. Just one year be the leading rider here.”
Barring injury, Vazquez is in line to surpass the retired Don Howard as Oaklawn's 10th winningest jockey in history before the 2025-26 meeting ends May 2. Howard rode 509 during his Oaklawn career. Retired Hall of Famer Pat Day stands atop the Hot Springs annuals as the winningest rider with 1,264 victories.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
