Tyler Gaffalione (born September 12, 1994 in

Davie, Florida Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately north of Miami. The town's population was 110,320 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Davie is a principal town of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to ...

) is an American jockey who, since being voted the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

for the 2015 U.S. Champion Apprentice Jockey, has become one of racing's rising stars having won more than 200 races every year in his first three full seasons. He won the 2019 Preakness Stakes aboard

War of Will ''War of Will'' is the second studio album by American extreme metal band Battlecross. Produced at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, FL, the work was released on July 9, 2013 via Metal Blade Records peaking at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums durin ...

Background

Born in

, Gaffalione is the son of former jockey Steve Gaffalione, who rode from 1978 through 1998. He was four when he got his first pony and spent much time on the

backstretch Backstretch refers to either: (1) the portion of an oval racetrack on the far side of the grandstand, parallel to the homestretch, or, (2) particularly in North America, the area near the racetrack where horses are stabled and the daily work of main ...

with his father. Gafflione attended Western and

Sunlake High School Sunlake High School is a public high school in Pasco County, Florida, located off Sunlake Boulevard and State Road 54 in Land o' Lakes, Florida. It is adjacent to Charles S. Rushe Middle School, both of which opened in August 20, 2007. Sunlake ...

s, graduating from the latter in 2013.

Racing career

Tyler Gaffalione rode his first winner in the third race of his career on September 7, 2014 at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

. A track that became a favorite, on May 3, 2015 he won five races on a single Gulfstream Park racecard then on July 4, 2017 he tied

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey Jerry Bailey's 19-year-old record by winning seven races on a single Gulfstream Park racecard. On June 30, 2018 Tyler Gaffalione captured his sixth riding title at

.''Bloodhorse.com'' article titled "Tyler Gaffalione Wins Sixth Riding Title at Gulfstream"
Retrieved June 28, 2018 Preakness (40923947383)

In 2018, Tyler Gaffalione was riding primarily at Gulfstream Park and

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

. He earned his first Grade I victory in the

La Troienne La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many notab ...

aboard Salty and finished in eleventh place in the National Earnings list. In 2019, he teamed up with trainer

Mark Casse Mark E. Casse (born February 14, 1961) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include 2015 American champion turf mare Tepin and Canadian Horses of the Year Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014), Catch A ...

to win 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 ...

with

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffalione, Tyler 1994 births living people American jockeys Eclipse Award winners People from Davie, Florida Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida