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Garrett K. Gomez
Garrett Keith Gomez (January 1, 1972 – December 14, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career. Racing career Early career Gomez learned to ride by watching his father, Louie, who was a jockey at many tracks in the Southwest United States. When Gomez was in the tenth grade, he dropped out of school to start his career as a jockey, and began riding at Santa Fe Downs in New Mexico in September 1988, picking up his first victory at that venue aboard Furlong Circle. After a stint riding on the California Fair Circuit, Gomez switched his tack to the Midwest and rode at Ak-Sar-Ben and Fonner Park in Nebraska. Gomez was the second leading apprentice rider in 1989, racking up 182 winners. In the mid 1990s, Gomez's career began to take off. He won back-to-back runnings of the Arkansas Derby in 1994 (with Concern) and 1995 (with Dazzling Falls). Two years later, he captured the "Mid-America Triple" at Arli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100-120 lb., and physically fit. They are typically self-employed and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings. Jockeys are mainly male, though there are some well-known female jockeys too. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries. Etymology The word is by origin a diminutive of ''jock'', the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name ''John'', which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare ''Jack'', ''Dick''), at least since 1529. A familiar instance of the use of the word as a name is in "Jockey of Norfolk" in Shakespeare's ''Richard III''. v. 3, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the summer meeting at Saratoga. The past winners of the Gold Cup are a veritable who's who of award-winning Hall of Fame horses, including Easy Goer, Man o' War, Cigar, Skip Away, Curlin, Slew o' Gold, John Henry, Affirmed, Forego, Shuvee, Damascus, Buckpasser, Kelso, Sword Dancer, Nashua, Citation, Whirlaway and War Admiral. Despite the current $1,250,000 purse and Grade 1 status, the stature of the race has suffered somewhat in recent years thanks to the emergence of the Breeders' Cup Classic held not long afterward, as well as a change in distance to miles in 1990, reducing its distinctiveness. Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup automatically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Ribbon Stakes
The Rodeo Drive Stakes is a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three-years-old and upwards. It is run at Santa Anita Park with a current purse of $300,000 and is contested over a distance of . Originally named the Yellow Ribbon Stakes, it was normally raced during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting at Santa Anita Park in late September / early October. It was and is a major prep race for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf raced over a distance of on the turf. Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of the Rodeo Drive automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Inaugurated in 1977, it was an Invitational through 1995. The original name for the race was the idea of Oak Tree Founding Director Louis R. Rowan and is taken from the wartime song: " Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree." Records Time record: * 1:57.60 – Brown Bess (1989) Most wins: * 2 – Wait A While (2006, 2008) * 2 – Avenge (2016, 2017) * 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Memorial Stakes
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial has been run as a Grade II event since 2017. It was a Grade I race from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) to 1994 and again from 2002 to 2016. The Wood Memorial is one of the major prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Between 1930 and 2000, eleven winners of the Wood Memorial went on to win the Kentucky Derby (Gallant Fox, Twenty Grand, Johnstown, Count Fleet, Hoop Jr., Assault, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes, Seattle Slew, Pleasant Colony and Fusaichi Pegasus). Four of them also won the Triple Crown. The most famous loser in the Wood Memorial was Secretariat, who finished third in 1973. The winner of the Wood Memorial has not won the Kentucky Derby since 2000, in part because several became injured in the weeks betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turf Classic Stakes
The Turf Classic Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for open to horses aged four and older, over a distance of one and one-eighth miles, on the turf held annually in early May on the Kentucky Derby day meeting at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky during the spring meeting. History This race was inaugurated on 1 May 1987 as the Early Times Turf Classic Stakes and was the first stakes race run on the new Matt Winn Turf Course. The event was won by the reigning US Champion Male Turf Horse Manila, his eighth straight victory by three lengths as the short 2-5 odds-on favorite in a small field of four starters. The event was classified as Grade III in 1989 for its third running, upgraded to Grade II in 1994 and since 1996 a Grade I. The event has had three sponsor name changes which have contributed to the high purse and growth is status of the event. The sponsorship has been by the Brown-Forman Corporation, one of the largest North American-owned companies in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes
The Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three year olds and older over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting. History The inaugural running of the event was on 11 October 1986 as the Keeneland Breeders' Cup Stakes at a distance of miles with added purse incentive for horses that were entered to the Breeders' Cup. The event was won by the 21-1 Ohio bred longshot Leprechauns Wish in a time of 1:51. The added purses from the Breeders' Cup high quality participants and the race was classified as Grade III in 1988. The winner of the fourth running in 1989, the British bred Steinlen in his next start won the Breeders' Cup Mile at Gulfstream Park. In 1994 the distance of the event was decreased to one mile. In 1998 the event was upgraded to Grade II and in 2001 to Grade I. In 1999 Shadwell Farm became the sponsor of the event, and in 2004 the even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hopeful Stakes
The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has been a showcase for some of the top East Coast horses at that age group. Raced on the dirt over a distance of seven furlongs, the Grade I event currently offers a purse of $350,000. Inaugurated in 1903, the first edition was won by Delhi who went on to win the 1904 Belmont Stakes. In 1904, the Hopeful Stakes was won by the filly Tanya. She would go on to win the 1905 Belmont Stakes. Initially raced at a distance of six furlongs, from 1925 through 1993 it was run at six and a half furlongs and since 1994 at seven furlongs. Currently, the Hopeful Stakes is the first influential prep race leading up to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and since 1925 has been a competition that marks the first time two-year-olds are tested at a distance beyond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humana Distaff Handicap
The Derby City Distaff Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in early May on the Kentucky Derby day meeting at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky during the spring meeting. The current purse is $500,000. History The event was inaugurated on May 2, 1987 as the fifth race on the undercard of the Kentucky Derby day meeting as the Brown & Williamson Handicap sponsored by the tobacco company Brown & Williamson, which at the time had their headquarters in Louisville. The event was a Listed race until 1990 when it was upgraded to Grade III status. It was subsequently upgraded to a Grade II event in 1999 then to its present Grade I status in 2002. The event's name was changed in 1995 to the Humana Distaff Handicap, sponsored by Humana, an American health insurance company also based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2007, the event was changed to the Humana Distaff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes
The Hollywood Turf Cup is a Graded stakes race, Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old or older over a distance of one and one-half miles (12 furlongs) on the Grass, turf track scheduled annually in late November at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The event currently carries a purse of $250,000. History The inaugural running of the event was on 6 December 1981 under Weight-for-Age conditions with an impressive purse of US500,000 added. The event as planned by West Coast racing administration attracted some fine horses including Europeans who had come to the US to run in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes, Washington, D.C. International. The event was won by the Irish-bred Providential who raced in the US as Providential II and had previously won the Washington, D.C. International Stakes, Washington, D.C. International in a star studded field which included John Henry (horse), John Henry who was the leading stakes winner in the US at the time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garden City Handicap
The Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade I event open to three-year-old fillies, it is raced on turf over a distance of a mile and a quarter (10 furlongs). The purse was increased to $1,000,000 in 2014. The race is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" event for the Filly and Mare Turf. The Belmont Oaks became a Grade I race in 1999. It was previously known as the Garden City Stakes from 2007 to 2013 when it was run in September at miles. From 1996–2006, it was called the Garden City Breeders' Cup, and the Rare Perfume before that. The latter name was in honor of George Widener's racing mare, Rare Perfume. The Garden City name referred to Garden City, New York, a village in the Town of Hempstead in central Nassau County located near the racetrack. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Grass Stakes
The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run at miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Blue Grass Stakes was a Grade I event from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) through 1989 and again from 1999 to 2016. It was a Grade II event from 2017-2021, and returned to a Grade I in 2022. It was named for the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, characterized by grass having bluish-green culms, which is known as the "heart" of the thoroughbred racing industry. First run at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington in 1911, the Blue Grass has, from its inception, served as an important prep for the Kentucky Derby. At the Lexington Association track, the Blue Grass was staged from 1911 through 1914 and from 1919 through 1926. The race was revived at Keeneland in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Oaks
The American Oaks is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the turf held annually in late December Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currently offers a purse of US$300,000. History The inaugural running of the event was on 6 July 2002 as the American Oaks Invitational at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California with a purse of $500,000. The event was won by the British-bred filly Megahertz who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis and trained by US Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel on a disqualification of Dublino who had crossed the finishing line first. Dublino had bumped Megahertz in the stretch drive, and then the whip of jockey Kent Desormeaux hit Megahertz twice in the face, making Megahertz end the race a half-length behind. The following year, 2003, with a purse increase to $750,000 the winner was the Irish-trained filly Dimitrova who had previousl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
