Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. (born December 29, 1946, in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

) was once

flat 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 ...

's winningest all-time

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 ...

, still holding third place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

Pincay learned to ride by watching his father who was a jockey at many tracks in Panama and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He began his riding career in his native Panama and in 1966 prominent horseman

Fred W. Hooper Fred William Hooper (October 6, 1897 – August 4, 2000) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. He was a member of The Jockey Club, an honorary director of the Breeders' Cup, and one of the founders of the Thoroughbred Owners ...

and agent

Camilo Marin Camilo Marin (January 6, 1913 – December 1, 1988) was a Cuban-born jockey's agent who is widely regarded as one of horse racing's most successful agents. Marin began his career in his native Cuba, working as a groom and an exercise rider at the ...

sponsored him to come to the United States and ride under contract. He started his American career at

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and won eight of his first eleven races. Pincay rose to national prominence almost immediately, winning riding titles and major stakes on both coasts. In 1968, he became only the second rider in Hollywood Park history to win six races on a single card. During his career, Pincay was voted the prestigious

George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional condu ...

in 1970 that honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. In 1996, he was voted the

Mike Venezia Memorial Award Mike Venezia Memorial Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually by the New York Racing Association to honor a jockey who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. The award was created in 1989 to honor the ...

for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship". He has won the

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor for jockeys first awarded in 1971. Part of the Eclipse Awards program, it is awarded annually. In 1995, Russell Baze was honored with the Eclipse Special Award ...

on five occasions and was the United States' leading jockey seven times. In 1973, Pincay rode Sham, and together they won that year's Santa Anita Derby and placed second in the Wood Memorial behind

Angle Light Angle Light (April 18, 1970 – unknown) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who defeated the champion Secretariat in the 1973 Wood Memorial Stakes. Background Angle Light was bred by Howard B. Noonan and Runnymede Farm and was purchased and ...

but ahead of their main rival,

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

. Sham was considered the best horse in the west, and they were second choice in the Kentucky Derby, once again behind Secretariat. Secretariat won the race, but Sham finished second, just 2/5 of a second behind. In the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, Sham was in striking distance in the stretch before losing to Secretariat by two lengths. In the Belmont, Pincay was instructed to keep Sham close to Secretariat. They traveled down the backstretch together, but Sham was injured and fell back to finish last of five while Secretariat pulled away from the field for a 31-length victory.

Personal life

Pincay married his first wife, Linda, in 1967. He and Linda had a daughter, Lisa, and a son, Laffit III. Lisa is the mother of his two grandchildren, Madelyn and Mason.Cain, Madelyn (2009). LAFFIT: Anatomy of a Winner. Affirmed Press. . Linda Pincay committed suicide in January 1985. In the 1980s he was involved with actress

Phyllis Davis Phyllis Ann Davis (July 17, 1940 – September 27, 2013) was an American actress who appeared primarily on television. She co-starred on the 1978–1981 dramatic detective series ''Vega$ as'' Beatrice Travis, office manager and girl Friday for th ...

. He has a son, Jean Laffit Pincay, with his second wife, Jeanine. Laffit Pincay III is a horse-racing commentator for HRTV and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. In October 2007, he was loaned to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

to serve as the winner's circle interviewer at the 2007

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

. He currently resides in

Arcadia, CA Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

Awards and Records

In 2004, Hollywood Park Racetrack announced the creation of the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award to be presented annually on Hollywood Gold Cup Day that features the race he won a record nine times. The award was designed by American sculptor Nina Kaiser and is presented to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction. At the time of his retirement (in April 2003), he remained horse racing's winningest

, with 9,530 career victories. On December 1, 2006,

Russell Baze Russell Avery Baze (born 7 August 1958 ) is a retired horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame and the State of Washington S ...

passed Pincay on the all-time win list, and in February 2018, Brazilian jockey

Jorge Ricardo Jorge Antonio Ricardo (born September 30, 1961, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a jockey in South American Thoroughbred horse racing who became the highest tally winning rider in the sport on 5 February 2007. He has since been passed by Canadian-bo ...

surpassed Baze with career victory 12,843, at Gavea, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With his 8,834th win, on December 10, 1999, at Hollywood Park Racetrack in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

aboard Irish Nip, he broke the career victory record previously held by

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sho ...

. He won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

in 1984 aboard

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

. Pincay's win with Swale was his third consecutive Belmont victory, having ridden Conquistador Cielo and

Caveat Caveat may refer to Latin phrases: * ''Caveat lector'' ("let the reader beware") * '' Caveat emptor'' ("let the buyer beware") * '' Caveat venditor'' ("let the seller beware") Other: * CAVEAT, a Canadian lobby group * ''Caveat'', an album by N ...

to victory in the previous two years. The four victories in the Triple Crown were the only times Pincay visited the winner's circle in those races but he never won the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

and failed to win another Triple Crown race after he rode Swale. Pincay was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 1975.

Year-end charts

References

External links

*
LAFFIT: Anatomy of a Winner
' is a 2009

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

written b
Madelyn Cain

''Laffit: All About Winning'' at IMDb

Documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

that takes a look at Laffit's career and life experiences as a jockey. The movie was narrated by actor

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

.
Laffit Pincay Jr. at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

NTRA 2004 article - ''Hollywood Park announces Laffit Pincay Jr. Award''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pincay, Laffit Jr American jockeys Panamanian jockeys American Champion jockeys Sportspeople from Panama City Pincay, Laffit Jr. Eclipse Award winners Pincay, Laffit Jr. Pincay, Laffit Jr. Panamanian emigrants to the United States