Ronald D. Ardoin (born June 13, 1957 in
Carencro, Louisiana
Carencro (; historically french: St.-Pierre) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 United S ...
) is a retired
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 ...
in American
Thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...
. He is one of a number of successful
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
jockeys who began their careers riding in
bush track Bush track is a term used in horse racing to describe unsanctioned, informal horse races run in rural areas of the United States and southern Canada. Quarter horses, ridden by amateur jockeys, are raced on makeshift tracks, often set up in the fiel ...
races in Louisiana.
In 1973, at
Delta Downs
Delta Downs Racetrack, Casino and Hotel is an American thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack in Calcasieu Parish, near Vinton, Louisiana in the southwest portion of the state. The facility is owned by Boyd Gaming.
History
The track opened in ...
in
Vinton, Louisiana
Vinton is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,400 in 2020. It is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area.
History
The Old Spanish Trail, which was neither old nor Spanish, wandered north and ...
, Ron Ardoin earned the first of his 5226 career wins. During his thirty-one years in racing he won twelve riding titles at Louisiana tracks, earning six at the
Fair Grounds Race Course
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC.
As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...
in
and another six at
Louisiana Downs
Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack is a 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 i ...
in
Bossier City
Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...
. Ardoin also won a riding title at
Lone Star Park
Lone Star Park is a horse racing track and entertainment destination located mile north of Interstate 30 on Belt Line Road in Grand Prairie, Texas. Lone Star Park has two live racing seasons every year; the spring Thoroughbred season generally ...
in
Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it t ...
. At
Oaklawn Park Race Track
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the A ...
in
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...
, he scored the most significant win of his career when he rode
Zarb's Magic to victory in the 1996
Arkansas Derby
The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt.
In 2004, t ...
. That win led to riding Zarb's Magic to a thirteenth place result in the
1996 Kentucky Derby
The 1996 Kentucky Derby was the 122nd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 4, 1996. There were 142,668 in attendance. The loss by 7-2 favorite Unbridled's Song marked the 17th year in a row that the betting favorite failed to ...
. In his only other Derby start, he finished tenth aboard Encolure in the
1985 edition.
On August 20, 2000, Ron Ardoin became the 16th jockey in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
to win 5,000 races when he rode Heart of an Angel to victory at Louisiana Downs.
Ron Ardoin was inducted in the
Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame The Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame was created in 1971 by the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the Uni ...
in 1998 and the Lone Star Park Hall of Fame in 2007.
Texas Thoroughbred Association article on Ron Ardoin titled ''Lone Star Park announces new Hall of Fame''
/ref>
After an injury in March 2003 kept him out of racing, Ardoin officially retired in early 2004 having won 5226 races and having won six riding title at Fair Grounds Race Course.
A resident of Haughton, Louisiana
Haughton is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,539 in 2020. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area.
Geography
Haughton is located east of Bossier City and east of S ...
, Ardoin currently works as a jockey's agent based at Louisiana Downs.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardoin, Ronald D.
1957 births
Living people
People from Carencro, Louisiana
Cajun jockeys