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Ron Turcotte
Ronald Joseph Morel "Ronnie" Turcotte, (born July 22, 1941) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973. Career Turcotte began his career in Toronto as a hot walker for E. P. Taylor's Windfields Farm in 1960, but he was soon wearing the silks and winning races. As an apprentice jockey he rode Windfields' Northern Dancer to his first victory. He gained prominence with his victory aboard Tom Rolfe in the 1965 Preakness Stakes. Turcotte soon started working with Canadian trainer Lucien Laurin at the racetrack in Laurel, Maryland. In 1972 he rode Riva Ridge to victory in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Turcotte became internationally famous in 1973 when he rode Secretariat to win the first Triple Crown in 25 years, with records for each race, and the phenomenal finish of Secretariat 31 lengths ahead of the field in the Belmont. A photograph of Secretariat winning the race, wit ... [...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] |
Beldame Stakes
The Beldame Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960. The race is held annually near the beginning of October at Belmont Park and currently offers a purse of $400,000. A Grade I event for most of its history, in 2019 it was downgraded to Grade II. On August 22, 2009, NYRA announced that the purse for the 2009 Beldame Stakes was increased to $1 million to attract a showdown between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta though ultimately neither horse entered the race. The race is named for the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame mare Beldame who raced between 1903 and 1905. During the 1904 season, she won 12 of 14 starts, beating the best colts of her time, and was voted the Horse of the Year honors. The first New York bred to win an Eclipse Award, Saratoga Dew, won this race in 1992. Run at miles since 1991, the Beldame has been set at various distances: * miles : 1939, 1990 * 1 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturday in May. Thus the Florida Derby is currently run either at the end of March or the beginning of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade I race is run at miles on the dirt. The purse was increased to $1 million in 2011 but was reduced to $750,000 for 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purse was once again increased to $1 million in 2022. History The Florida Derby was first run in 1952. It has long been a prestigious prep race for the Kentucky Derby and since 2013 has been part of the official Road to the Kentucky Derby. The race was originally run in early to mid-March and Kentucky Derby hopefuls would then run in another major prep race in April. In 2005, Gulfstream Park shifted its scheduling to run the rac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coaching Club American Oaks
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010. Run as a handicap prior to 1928, the race is named in honor of the Coaching Club of New York. One of the requirements for membership in this club was the ability to handle a coach and four horses with a single group of reins. August Belmont Jr. set the original conditions in order to emulate The Oaks in England. From 1963 to 1967 the Coaching Club American Oaks was run at Aqueduct Racetrack. Over the years, it has been raced at various distances: *1917, 2010–present : 9 furlongs *1990–1997, 2003–2009 : 10 furlongs *1919–1941, 1944–1958 : 11 furlongs *1942–1943, 1971–1989, 1998–2003 : 12 furlongs Historical notes Future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mom's Command won the 1985 Oaks under jockey Abigail Full ... [...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] |
Laurel Futurity
The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the richest and most important races for two-year-old American thoroughbreds. When the race was moved from the dirt to the turf in 2005, it lost its graded status and was subsequently ineligible for grading in 2006. The race was finally cancelled in 2008 for economic reasons. It was announced by Laurel Park that the famed race would be restored in 2011 and run on October 8 at 6 furlongs. Originally known as the Pimlico Futurity (the race began at Pimlico Race Course in 1921, only moving to Laurel in 1969 where it was briefly known as the Pimlico-Laurel Futurity). Past winners include Triple Crown champions Count Fleet, Citation, Secretariat and Affirmed, who defeated his arch rival Alydar in this race. Records Speed record: * miles – 1:40.1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotham Stakes
The Gotham Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Grade III event with a current purse of US$300,000, it is set at a distance of 1 mile on the dirt. It is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby. History The race is named for New York City, which has been nicknamed Gotham since an 1807 article by Washington Irving. The event was inaugurated in 1953 at Jamaica Racetrack but following the facility's closure was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack for the 1960 season. In 1958, the race was restricted to horses four years of age and older. The Gotham Stakes is the final local prep to the Wood Memorial Stakes and an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby. The only Derby winner who competed in the Gotham was American Triple Crown champion Secretariat, who tied the track record when winning the race in 1973. Easy Goer improved on this in 1989, setting a track record of 1:32.40 – one of the fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Champagne Stakes (United States)
The Champagne Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses. The race is run at a distance of one mile on the dirt at Belmont Park in October each year. Although the race is open to both colts and fillies, in practice it is New York's premier race for two-year-old colts and fillies enter the Frizette Stakes instead. The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season qualifying race. The winner receives 10 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. The race is also a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. The winner automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The race was first run in 1867, and it is the oldest race of its kind in the United States. It was given the same name as the British Champagne Stakes which has been run annually since 1823 at the Doncaster Racecourse in South Yorkshire, England. There was no Champagne Stakes run from 1910 through 1913, due to a legislated ban by the State of New York on parimutuel ... [...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] |
Flash Stakes
The Flash Stakes was an important and prestigious race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses and one of the longest running horse racing events in America. Run before races were graded, the Flash was won by a host of starry names. Begun before the United States Hotel Stakes (also now removed from racing's roster), it was the oldest race for juveniles of either gender in the US. Once a historic fixture in Saratoga Springs, New York at the Saratoga Race Course, it was eliminated in 2005 by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), which feared bankruptcy. Moved from its home in Saratoga after a long absence, the Grade III Flash had raced on at Belmont Park as a five furlong sprint on the main track for a $100,000 added purse until the NYRA's 2005 decision. Winners since 1999 Earlier winners * 1983 : 1998 - ''Not Run'' * 1982 – Victorious * 1981 – Ringaro * 1972 : 1980 – ''Not Run'' * 1971 – Riva Ridge * 1969 – Pontifex * 1967 – Forward Pass * 1966 – Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alabama Stakes
The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it currently offers a purse of $600,000. In 2010 it became the third leg of the American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, after the Acorn Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks. The Alabama Stakes is named in honor of William Cottrell of Mobile, Alabama. "Alabama" was the name settled on because Cottrell was too modest to have a race named for him personally. The inaugural running took place on July 19, 1872 and was won by a chestnut filly named Woodbine owned by prominent New York financier August Belmont Sr. The race was not run from 1893 to 1896 and 1898 to 1900. The 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes led to a state-wide shutdown of racin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Withers Stakes
The Withers Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York (state), New York. The event currently carries a purse of $250,000. History The Withers was named for David D. Withers, David Dunham Withers (1821–1892), an important owner/breeder who won this race in 1890 with his colt, King Eric. The inaugural run of the Withers Stakes occurred in 1874 at Jerome Park Racetrack. It was raced there through 1889 after which it was hosted by the Morris Park Racecourse from 1890 through 1904, then Jamaica Race Course in 1956, and at Belmont Park from 1957 through 1959 and 1984 through 1996. The Withers was not run in 1911 and 1912 due to a New York (state), New York State legislated ban on all forms of wagering on horses. It was also not run in 2011, but returned to the New York racing calendar on February 4, 2012. The Wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
