Jacinto Vásquez (born January 4, 1944 in

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 Co ...

) is a retired Hall of Fame

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

jockey. He rode two

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-yea ...

winners,

Foolish Pleasure Foolish Pleasure (March 23, 1972 – November 17, 1994) was an American bay Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1975 Kentucky Derby. Background Foolish Pleasure was a bay horse bred at Williston, Florida by Waldemar Farms, Inc. He was owned by J ...

in 1975 and the filly Genuine Risk in 1980. He was also the regular jockey for the champion filly Ruffian.

Biography

Vasquez began working at the Presidente Remon Racetrack in Panama at age 15, and became a leading apprentice rider there before moving to the United States in 1960. He was based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

for much of his career, and also frequently rode at

Calder Race Course Calder Casino is a casino located in Miami Gardens, Florida. It includes slots, electronic table games, and bingo. The casino opened in 2010 and features a gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines, including video poker, as well as electronic ro ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. During his career Vasquez was the only jockey to defeat

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 racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

three times: in the

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memori ...

with Angle Light, in the

Whitney Handicap The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

aboard Onion, and in Secretariat's maiden race aboard Quebec. In 1975, Vasquez was the regular jockey for both Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure and Triple Tiara winner Ruffian. When "The Great match race" was set on July 6, 1975 between the two horses was arranged, Vasquez chose to ride Ruffian, leaving Foolish Pleasure for

Braulio Baeza Braulio Baeza (born March 26, 1940) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey and one of the master Thoroughbred jockeys of our time. In 1963, he was the first Latin American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. Baeza began his ...

. Beginning in February 1984, Jacinto Vasquez served a one-year suspension for attempting to

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

another jockey, a charge going back to 1975 which he vehemently denied and had fought through racing authority hearings and through the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...

s for nearly ten years.https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30810FA3C5D0C758EDDAB0894DC484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fH%2fHorse%20Racing Vasquez was the leading jockey at Calder five times, in the seasons ending in 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981, and 1991. Over his 37-year career, he raced 37,392 times, winning 14% of his races. When he retired in 1996, he was 15th on the all-time wins list for jockeys. He was elected to 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 1998 and the Calder Hall of Fame in 1999. Since retiring as a jockey, Jacinto Vasquez has remained in racing and is now

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

horses in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home t ...

References

National Racing Hall of Fame biography Calder Race Course biography Gene Smith, "Ruffian"

American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Plac ...

, September 1993
"Surgery for Vasquez", New York Times, February 26, 1994 (source for birthdate)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasquez, Jacinto Living people 1944 births Panamanian jockeys American jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Panamanian emigrants to the United States