James S. "Jim" McAleney (born August 15, 1969 in Fort St. John, British Columbia) is a Canadian Thoroughbred

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

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. A native of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Jim McAleney began his career as a jockey in Western Canada where in 1986 at

Northlands Park Northlands Park was the "Alberta A circuit" horse racing track at Northlands in Edmonton, Alberta. The horse racing season generally consisted of a spring harness ( Standardbred) meet from February/March, a Thoroughbred meet from May/June to ...

in Edmonton, Alberta he got his first win. The following year, he competed in the West as well as in Ontario. For the year he finished sixth in wins among all jockeys in

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, a performance that earned him the

Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey The Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honour. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to a jockey undergoing their appre ...

. Based in Toronto in 1988, he raced at Greenwood Raceway and at Woodbine Racetrack and repeated as Champion apprentice that year. Consistently among the top jockeys in Ontario, Jim McAleney has also won races Monmouth Park and Keeneland Race Course and other tracks in the United States. In 2001, he won his first Canadian Classic Race when he rode

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to victory in the Breeders' Stakes. In 2004, McAleney returned to Northlands Park to compete in the

Canadian Derby The Canadian Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Leduc County, Alberta. A Grade III event held in August, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced on dirt over a distance of ...

, winning the race aboard Organ Grinder. In 2007, he broke his leg two days before the start of the season and was out until August 15. On his return, he won Woodbine Racetrack's Victoriana Stakes for a record fifth time. As at August 6, 2008 McAleney is the leading jockey at Woodbine Racetrack.

References

James McAleney at The Jockeys Guild

Year-end charts

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAleney, James S. 1969 births Canadian jockeys People from Fort St. John, British Columbia Sovereign Award winners Living people