Horse racing has had many famous success stories with some brilliantly named horses helping people cash in over the years. But the jockeys who ride these horses to glory should be celebrated as well. After all, without their careful handling and sportsmanship, many punters wouldn’t have been victorious with their horse betting. So, we are going to take a look at some of the most successful jockeys of the modern era and what made them so great.
Pincay Jr. Detorri, Baze, Bailey and Piggott are just some of key names you might have heard when it comes to jockeys of the modern era.
Each of these, and many others, have had successes which have catapulted their names into popular history and popular culture. Many of these sports personalities have become celebrities, appearing on TV shows and making a career than spans their time riding horse. Let’s look at some of their credentials and successes.
Laffit A. Pincay Jr:
Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr was born in 1946 and has a highly impressive 9,530 career wins to his name. Born in Panama City he got a lucky break when horse breeder and Jockey Club Member Fred W. Hooper spotted his talent, sponsoring the 20-year-old at his USA stables.
Pincay Jr’s won eight of his first 11 races. During his career which spanned four decades, Pincay’s Jr’s achievements include winning almost every major race on the US calendar. He took the title of the Hollywood Gold Cup an impressive nine times, won the Belmont Stakes three times consecutively and also scored a win in the Kentucky Derby. He retired in 2003 but such was his amazing career, he has been commemorated with a life-size bust at Santa Anita Park, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1975, and a member of the racing community is given an award in his name each year on Hollywood Gold Cup Day.
Frankie Detorri
‘Frankie’ (real name Lanfranco) was born in Milan Italy in 1970 and spent the majority of his career on the UK/EU circuit. With more than 3000 professional races under his belt, despite being in his 50s, Detorri is still active today, continuing to win races. Detorri’s family was heavily into horses and his grandfather introduced him to the sport. He famously quit school aged 13 to become a professional jockey, moving to England a year later to become an apprentice at Newmarket racecourse. His stellar career started immediately, and he won 100 races in his first season. He’s won every major race on the British racing calendar, but nothing beats the infamous Royal Ascot on 28 September 1996 when he won all seven races, he entered in one day.
Russell Baze:
Baze has been on the saddle for around 12,700 horse races, mainly on the US circuit. In 2006 he scooped more wins than Pincay Jr. Baze is still active today and has been professionally racing since 1974 when he was just 16. He won his first race where his career began – the Yakima Racetrack in Walla Walla that same year. Due to his phenomenal winning streak, the North American horseracing authorities named him United States Champion Jockey 10 times and he received the title from 1992-1995. He won more than 400 races, each year for five consecutive years so was bestowed with the Eclipse Special Award in 1995. In 1999 he was inducted into the United States Hall of Fame and been awarded a number of other titles which recognise his outstanding talent.
Baze won the San Francisco Breeders’ Club Mile in 2010. This was a major milestone for Baze as he had never won this race, the only one to be held at Golden Gate Fields Racecourse. Alongside Lester Piggott, Jerry D. Bailey, Steve Cauthen, and Bill Shoemaker, jockeys of recent years have had some truly outstanding achievements and deserve the recognition they are getting for performing so well, for so long, in what is a truly demanding sport.