Gustavo Ávila (born June 14, 1938, in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

) is a retired

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, 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 know ...

. He is best known as the jockey who rode

Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred horse racing, race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#United States Triple Cr ...

to victory in two of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown series, the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

. Among his other accomplishments, Avila was the winner of the first Clásico del Caribe (1966) with Victoreado and was the leading rider at La Rinconada Hippodrome for five years.

References

Profile of Gustavo Avila
(Spanish language)

Churchill Downs 1938 births Living people Venezuelan jockeys Sportspeople from Caracas {{Horseracing-bio-stub