jockey

Jockey Manny Franco booted home six winners Thursday on Aqueduct's nine-race card, including three consecutive victories to close the day. The six wins pushed his winter meet win total to 25, which leads the current jockey standings. "My agent [John Panagot] is the best, doing a terrific job," said Franco said. "Every day, he tries to get the best mounts possible. I'm happy to have him on my side. I'm thankful for these opportunities." Franco kicked off the day with a win aboard Sea Vista (Street Sense) in a 6...

Already an Eclipse Award winner from last year, Flavien Prat has gone back to back and has once again been named Best Jockey. His 2025 campaign of 1,256 starts earned a record of 309-234-188 with earnings of over $40,460,428. His picked up wins aboard Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in the GI Whitney Stakes and was named the Leading Rider for Keeneland's Spring meet. He also set a new NYRA record for wins on a single card, earning seven wins on the final day of the Belmont the Big A meet...

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%.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...