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John Velasquez
John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both years was given the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. He was inducted into the Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2012, rode his 5,000th winner in 2013, and became the leading money-earning jockey in the history of the sport in 2014. A winner of fifteen Breeders' Cup and six Triple Crown races including 2011, 2017, and 2020 Kentucky Derbies, Velázquez has also won major graded stakes races such as the Kentucky Oaks, Metropolitan Handicap, Whitney Handicap, Dubai World Cup, and Woodbine Mile. Background Velazquez was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico and learned to ride there, attending a jockey school for a year and a half. On January 3, 1990, he won his first race, aboard Rodas at El Nuevo Comandante racetrack in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. Tha ... [...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] |
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The current purse is US$2,000,000 making it the most valuable race for two-year-olds in North America. It is normally run at a distance of miles. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is typically the first time that the best colts from the various racing circuits across North America (in New York, Kentucky and California in particular) meet up with each other. The winner often earns the Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse, and becomes one of the early favorites for the next year's Kentucky Derby. In 2006, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) wrote in Part 2 of their special series titled ''Spiraling To The Breeders' Cup'' that " Arazi turned in what many still consider to be the single-most spect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruffian Stakes
The Ruffian Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares ages four-years-old and older run over a distance of one mile on a dirt track scheduled annually in early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Race history The race is named in honor of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly, Ruffian who broke down in a match race with the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure on 6 July 1975 at Belmont Park and was humanely destroyed the following day. The following year the New York Racing Association scheduled the inaugural running of the Ruffian Stakes on 9 October 1976 as a miles race for fillies and mares, three-year-old and older. The event was won by Revidere who defeated the Argentine bred Bastonera II by 14 lengths on a sloppy track in a time of 2:01 flat. Revidere was sired by Reviewer the same sire of the ill-fated Ruffian. After the first running the event was classified as Grade I. In 1977 the distance of the event was decreased to mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mother Goose Stakes
The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late June or early July, the race currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mile and a sixteenth, it was lengthened to a mile and an eighth in 1959. Originally part of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, the Mother Goose was removed from the series in 2010 and its distance reverted to a mile and a sixteenth. The Mother Goose was run as a Grade II event beginning in 2017. It had been a Grade I event since 1974 (when grading was first introduced). The race was named for H.P. Whitney's filly Mother Goose, one of only thirteen fillies to have ever won the male dominated Belmont Futurity Stakes. The Mother Goose Stakes was run at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, in 1969, and again in 1975. Records Speed Record: * miles – 1:46.33 – Rachel Alexandra (2009) * miles – 1:41.01 – Off The Tracks (201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Test Stakes
The Test Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and run each summer at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is contested at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is an influential race in shaping the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. A Grade I event, it carries a purse of $500,000. It was first run at Saratoga in 1922. Over the years it has also become an important race for fillies pointing towards the Grade I Alabama Stakes which also runs at Saratoga Race Course. Inaugurated at a mile and quarter, it went to seven furlongs in its second running. The Test Stakes took place at Belmont Park in 1943, 1944, and 1945. It was not run from 1923 to 1925 or in 1961. It was run in two divisions in 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, and 1979. Records Speed record: * 1:20.83 – Lady Tak (2003),Gamine (2020) Most wins by a jockey: * 6 – Jerry Bailey (1988, 1994, 1995, 1997, 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belmont Futurity Stakes
The Futurity Stakes, commonly referred to as the Belmont Futurity, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-September or October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, United States. Open to two-year-old horses, it is raced on turf over a distance of six furlongs. The creation of James G. K. Lawrence, president of the Sheepshead Bay Race Track, the Futurity was originally run with the two-year-old offspring of mares which had been nominated before their birth. This rule remained in effect until 1957, when the race was opened to all two-year-old horses. The Futurity was run as a turf race for the first time in 2018. It was added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series for 2018 as a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Inaugural running The first edition of the Futurity took place on Labor Day in 1888. ''The New York Times'' reported that one quarter of those in attendance were women. The richest race ever run in the United States to that time, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Handicap
The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes is a Grade I American Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for three years old and older over a distance of miles on the turf track scheduled annually in late September or early October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event currently offers a purse of $500,000. History The inaugural running of the event was on 19 November 1977 as the Aqueduct Turf Classic Stakes and was won by Johnny D., ridden by 17-year-old Steve Cauthen by lengths in a time of 2:33. The event was scheduled two weeks after the Washington D.C. International, an event that Johnny D. won as well earning him US Champion Male Turf Horse honors for 1977. The following year the event was held at Belmont Park. In 1979 the event was classified Grade I and was returned to Aqueduct and was held there until 1983. In 1983 the name of the event was shortened to being called just the Turf Classic. The event drew the top Thoroughbreds from the U.S. and Europe when it was par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes
The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the turf held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting. History The race was inaugurated on October 11, 1984, in honour of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who attended the Keeneland races, during her private visit to Central Kentucky, and who presented a trophy on that date. The event was held on the dirt track over a distance of miles with Sintra winning in a time of 1:43. The following year the event was moved to the turf track. The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup was a Listed race in 1984 and 1985, and was upgraded to Grade III status in 1986. The event held this status for two runnings and was upgraded to Grade II. In 1991 was upgraded once more to Grade I. It is an important prep race to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Records Time record: * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graded Stakes Race
A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is then assigned to the race, based on statistical analysis of the quality of the field in previous years, provided the race meets the minimum purse criteria for the grade in question. In Canada, a similar grading system is maintained by the Jockey Club of Canada. Graded stakes races are similar to Group races in Europe but the grading is more dynamic in North America. The grading system was designed in 1973 and first published in 1974. The original purpose of grading was to identify the most competitive races, which helps horsemen make comparisons of the relative quality of bloodstock for breeding and sales purposes. A high grading can also be used by racetracks to promote the race in question. When determining Eclipse Award winners, racing jour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's Stand Stakes
The King's Stand Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. History The event was created as a result of bad weather at Royal Ascot in 1860. Heavy rain made it impossible to run the Royal Stand Plate over its usual distance of 2 miles, so it was shortened to 5 furlongs on the only raceable part of the course. The amended version was called the Queen's Stand Plate, and it subsequently became the most important sprint at the Royal meeting. For a period it was open to horses aged two or older. It was renamed the King's Stand Stakes following the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII in 1901. The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the King's Stand Stakes was given Group 1 status in 1973. It was downgraded to Group 2 level i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 Dubai World Cup
The 2005 Dubai World Cup was a horse race held at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse on Saturday 26 March 2005. It was the 10th running of the Dubai World Cup. The winner was Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey's Roses In May, a five-year-old brown horse trained in the United States by Dale Romans and ridden by John R. Velazquez. Roses In May's victory was the first in the race for his owner, trainer and jockey. Roses In May had been one of the leading dirt performers in the United States in 2004 when he won the Whitney Stakes and finished second to Ghostzapper in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Before being shipped to Dubai he finished second to Saint Liam in the Donn Handicap in February. In the 2005 Dubai World Cup he started the 11/8 favourite and won by three lengths from his fellow American challenger Dynever, with Choctaw Nation one and a quarter lengths back in third. The Richard Mandella-trained second favourite Congrats finished fifth of the twelve runners. Race details * Sponsor: Emirates Airline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place where people congregate and compete, a sort of meeting point in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Racing Authority (ERA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. It offers nine races, consisting of eight Thoroughbred contests and one Purebred Arabian contest. The Dubai World Cup, the final race of Dubai World Cup night, was created in 1996 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai who owns Darley Stud & Godolphin Racing, one of the world's leading Thoroughbred breeding and racing operations. Annually held on the last Saturday in March, the Dubai World C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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