Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Garrett Gomez was the winner of the 2007 Shoemaker award. The award is given out to the jockey who had the best overall performance in the Breeders Cup races. Today he shows up at Santa Anita. Perhaps he is just getting ready for the California Cup races, or could he be back for a stay in sunny California? Well time will tell as the talented jockey has made a name for himself through out the country. He has established himself as a big money rider and I dare to say he has taken over the role of Jerry Baily. Mario Pino is closing in on his 6,000 career victory. He is 4 wins shy of this milestone and has 5 mounts today at Laurel Park where he is winning at about 30%. . Here is The link I promised for the first 25 pages of Handicapping The Wall Street Way, http://uberhorse.com/uploads/Excerpt_handicapping.pdf

I know you will enjoy this so please give it a look.

There was a bit of a dispute between the Breeders Cup management and the riders of that day. Apperantly many of the riders were not prsent at the BC draw. In previous years riders of the BC races were given two tckets each for the event. This year they were told they would not receive this; Therefore a losing mount fee for a Breeders Cup race is 100.00. After paying the out of state licensing fee of 50.00 and the parking fee of 50.00 a jockey would actualy be paying money to ride the race.

The Day After

I hope I sold a lot of books yesterday since Mark gave you five winners and three place horses. Not a bad days work in what usually proves to be a tough day of handicapping. Congratulations go out to Garrett Gomez who had a huge day winning two Breeders Cup races and two undercard stakes. Cornelio Velasquez with three wins on the day, two of which were BC races. Also Alan Garcia, Rafael Bejarano, John Velasquez, and the king of kings Robby Albarado. We need to also congratulate those horses who one the races. War Pass, Kip Deville, Indian Blessing, Midnight Lute, Lahudood, Ginger Punch, English Channel, and the grand daddy of them all Curlin. All and all it was a great day of racing and I thank God that everyone made it around the oval without any accidents. My condolences to the connections of George Washington. It is with a heavy heart that I say sorry for your loss of such a wonderful animal. For those of you who have not purchased "Hadicapping The Wall Street Way", I don't know what your waiting for. Thanks Mark for the picks I hope you had a good day of cashing tickets. I know I did. Now the show must go on. Unlike a lot of other sports where there is time off after such a big day, not so for those in the horse racing industry. Back up at 4 am and start another day all over again.

Handicapping The Wall Street Way

My special guest and friend is Mark E. Ripple author of the highly successful book "Handicapping The Wall Street Way". You can buy his book through my store on the right. I will be posting a link to the first 25 pages of the book soon. I am sure you will enjoy it. Hopefully with some of today's picks you can afford to buy it now. Here are Marks' picks for today: Juv Fillies4 -- Indian Blessing5 -- Irish Smoke1 -- Phantom Income
Juvenile2 -- War Pass3 -- Kodiak Kowboy13 -- Wicked Style

Filly and Mare Turf5 -- Wait A While2 -- Honey Ryder7 -- Argentina

Sprint2 -- Midnight Lute8 -- Benny the Bull6 -- Commentator

Mile3 -- After Market13 -- Excellent Art14 -- Remarkable News

Distaff4 -- Ginger Punch11 -- Unbridled Belle10 -- Indian Vale

Turf6 -- English Channel7 -- Dylan Thomas5 -- Grand Couturier

Classic1 -- Lawyer Ron2 -- Street Sense3 -- Any Given Saturday

Handicapping the Wall Street Way

Good Luck and don't forget the fire victims www.redcross.org anything you can do will help I'm sure.

Breeders Cup Friday

I know there have been some complaints about the new two day format of the Breeders Cup, but let me tell you I think its great. Watching and betting on the races today has done nothing but get me more excited about tomorrow.I'm sorry to say that I didn't post any of my picks today. I just got started on them to late and my kids are home from school because they canceled it due to the air quality. I promise to get tomorrows picks up in time and could possibly have a guest handicaper posting his picks. I hate to tell you that I was all over Maryfield today. I liked her pedigree for the off track. Part of it was handicapping and part hunch( my dsughters name is Mary). Hope you all enjoyed todays events and congratulations to my friend and pal Kent with an awesome ride on Corinthian.

8th Race
Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint S.
Next Post 5:04 Off: 4:28 6 Furlongs 3 Year Olds And Up Stakes Purse: $1,030,500
#
Horse
Jockey
Weight
Win
Place
Show
4
Maryfield
Trujillo E
123
18.00
9.00
6.00
2
Miraculous Miss
Rose J
123
37.40
17.20
1
Miss Macy Sue
Razo E Jr
123
4.60
Times in 5ths: :211 :44 :564 1:094
Times in 100ths: :21.29 :44.19 :56.84 1:09.85
Also ran: Baroness Thatcher, Dream Rush, La Traviata, Shaggy Mane, Oprah Winney, Wild Gams and Jazzy (ARG)
Winning Trainer: O'Neill Doug - Owner: Mark Gorman, Nick Mestrandrea & Jim Perry
$2 Exacta (4-2) Paid $374.80
$1 Trifecta (4-2-1) Paid $878.40
$1 Superfecta (4-2-1-10) Paid $6,787.00
$1 Pick 3 (2-4-4) 3 Correct Paid $2,102.60 Pick 3 Pool $190,749
9th Race
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf S.
Next Post 5:41 Off: 5:04 1 Mile (Turf) 2 Year Olds Stakes Purse: $916,000
#
Horse
Jockey
Weight
Win
Place
Show
7
Nownownow
Leparoux J R
122
27.20
8.60
6.00
8
Achill Island (IRE)
Murtagh J P
122
5.20
4.20
2
Cannonball
Trujillo E
122
7.80
Finish Time: 1:09.85
Also ran: Strike the Deal, Domestic Fund (IRE), Texas Fever, The Leopard, Gio Ponti, Your Round, Prussian, Cherokee Triangle and Preachin Man
Winning Trainer: Parisel Francois - Owner: Fab Oak Stable
$2 Exacta (7-8) Paid $180.00
$1 Trifecta (7-8-2) Paid $1,318.00
$1 Superfecta (7-8-2-5) Paid $8,330.30
$1 Pick 3 (4-4-7) 3 Correct Paid $3,171.40 Pick 3 Pool $152,245
10th Race
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile S.
Off: 5:41 1 Mile 70 Yards 3 Year Olds And Up Stakes Purse: $916,000
#
Horse
Jockey
Weight
Win
Place
Show
8
Corinthian
Desormeaux K J
126
9.40
4.40
3.00
6
Gottcha Gold
Lopez C C
126
6.20
3.40
1
Discreet Cat
Gomez G K
126
2.60
Finish Time: 1:39.06
Scratched: Forefathers
Also ran: Wanderin Boy, Lewis Michael, Xchanger, Park Avenue Ball and High Finance
Winning Trainer: Jerkens James A - Owner: Centennial Farms
$2 Exacta (8-6) Paid $60.20
$1 Trifecta (8-6-1) Paid $107.70
$1 Superfecta (8-6-1-3) Paid $496.40
$2 Daily Double (7-8) Paid $170.40 Daily Double Pool $455,648
$1 Pick 3 (4-7-8) 3 Correct Paid $795.70 Pick 3 Pool $1,023,705
$1 Pick 4 (4-4-7-8) 4 Correct Paid $24,235.30 Pick 4 Pool $887,037
$1 Pick 6 (3/6-2-4-4-7-8) 5 Correct Paid $1,681.10 Pick 6 Pool $143,519 Carryover Pool $82,024
Monmouth Park Attendance: 27803 Mutuel Pool: $5,038,975
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California wildfires

Breeders Cup starts tomorrow, but first let me take a moment to express my prayers to those who have been affected by the Californis wildfires. The nation is praying for you. Over the next week I am going to donate 20% of the proceeds from my sales and my winning bets to the Red Cross. I hope you will join me in donating at www.redcross.org . OK here in California the air quality is really bad with the smoke and ash. I am wondering if they are going to run at Oak Tree today because of it. I will be posting my selections tomorrow. I see David Flores and Joe Talamoe are not riding the next couple of days, probably already on there way to Monmouth Park. My man MC Baze will be riding right up until the day of the Breeders Cup. He has a full day of racing Friday and then off to Monmouth he goes to ride on Saturday. That's one tough kid. Good luck to all my boys from Cali.

Breeders cup riders

Well with the Breeders Cup line up out I have taken notice of a couple of things. In looking at the mounts, Desormeaux, Gomez, and J.Velasquez all with 9, Dominguez and Leparoux with 7, Dettori and C. Velasquez with 6, Coa and Flores with 5, Alberado, Costellano, Murtagh, and Smith all with 4, and Bravo, Castro, Borel, and Bejarano with 3. The rest have only one or two rides. It is clear that if you dream of riding in Breeders Cup races or Kentucky Derbys the place to ride is back east. This is why I believe Kent left California. Obviously it has paid off for him, and Garrett who also left. I find it odd that 14 time Monmouth Park leading rider Joe Bravo has a mere three mounts. Names like Mc Baze, and Russell Baze are completely shut out. Names like McCarron, Pincay, Stevens, Day, Baily and Delahousaye are certainly missed. Congratulations to 17 year old Smokin Joe Talamoe who will ride his first Breeders Cup Race on Friday.

Breeders Cup

First off I have to apologize to Mc Baze for putting the kabash on him. Ever since I wrote about his winning day back its been downhill. The Breeders Cup is less than a week away and I have been checking out all the sites for news and info. If you go to the Breederscup.com you can ask question to Joe Bravo Monmouth Parks 14 time leading rider. I had the priveledge of getting to know and ride with Joe when he was out here in California. It was always a lot of fun working horses with him in the morning. I was working for my good friend Danny Valasquez at the time and Dannys' then son-inlaw was Joes' agent. If I was beating him he would reach down and grab a hold of my horses saddle cloth which would help his horse run easier. All week I will be focusing on the Breeders Cup. Oh ya and don't forget there is a carryover at Oak Tree Santa Anita on wednesday. If we get any tips I'll post them for you.

Saturday 10/20/07

Lots of racing going on across the country especially with The Breeders Cup just a week away. Rafael Bejarano had 3 winners on the day two of which were The Maid Of The Mist stake and The Mohawk Stake. Kent Desormeaux also had two stakes victories in The Sleepy Hollow stakes and The Empire Classic Handicap. Garrett Gomez took home The Iroquois Handicap and The Ticonderoga Handicap along with another race giving him 3 on the day. Robby Alberado won The Lexus Raven Run stake a grade 2 event at Keenland among his 3 wins. Congratulations to all who had great days of racing this saturday. The Top five jockeys for the year so far are Garrett Gomez, Robby Albarado, John Velasquez, Ramon Dominguez, and Edgar Prado.

Russell Baze

Russell Baze continues to dominate as the worlds winningest jockey. Adding daily to his record setting 9531 wins he continues to roll on. Just recently he has gone on a streak of winning 12 of his last 14 mounts. Now I know some people will say that riding favorites and on what is considered an easier circuit is what attributes to his reign on top; however, I could care less where you ride or what you ride when you are winning at 33% that is just amazing. That means 1 out of every 3 mounts is a trip to the winners circle. To continue to stay on top year after year even aboard favorites you must continue to ride mistake free races. Congratulations to Dos Ramos who notched his career winning 2000th race at Woodbine's race course. Although I focus a lot on California jockeys that is not to take away from the east coast riders. As a matter of fact it is my belief that apprentices who start riding on the west need to go back east if they want to be successful. Most riders who have gained success in California have come from the east coast. It's simple, more horses plus more mounts equals more experience. You have to ride to learn and improve. With short fields on the west coast there is just not enough of a chance for a bug boy to make a name for himself.

The great Eddie D.

Hall of fame rider Eddie Delahoussaye underwent hip replacement surgery tuesday. Winner of 6,384 races he retired after a head and neck injury from a spill that occured at Del Mar. After suffering a severe concusion doctors told him that the risk from falling agin was to great. At age 56 the wear and tear of riding over 39,000 mounts he needed to have a total hip replacement. Eddie was one of the nicest and humble men you would ever meet. It makes me think of the times when I was in the jocks room just standing there amoung such greats as Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay, Kent Desormeaux, and of course Eddie Delahoussaye. When I think back on it, it is truly amazing that I got to ride with such great men. Watching the replay of a race I just rode with Chris and having him give me advise on what to do and what not to do. I wish Eddie a speedy recovery and owe him a big thank you for the times he sat and read the racing form with me.

Pick six carryover 617,007

Ok we have a huge carryover of 617,007 at Oak Tree today. I love playin the pick six on days like these. It will surley reach two million. Today I am going to give out some free picks. Starting with the third race all through the pick six races. Here we go, race 3 (2,5,7), race 4(3,4,9), race 5(3,7), race 6(2,8,12), race 7(3,5,7), and race 8(3,5). Good luck to all those of you playing. I hope my selections will help you with your choices.

Talk about tough

Today I am reminded at how tough jockeys really are. Anthony Black at age 55 returned to riding after an accident left him with a pair of broken ribs and three broken vertebrae (basically a broken back). Dijigi Gladney has also recently returned to riding after five years recovering from his broken back. Joe Bravo has returned from a broken collar bone. With the Breeders Cup just around the corner Joe has returned to secure any mounts he may have. Again Alex Solis has made a remarkable comeback from his broken back. Myself I suffered a broken skull that left me in a coma for six weeks, during which I had three life saving brain surgeries. The doctors removed part of my brain and I was left with a hole in my skull. By the grace of God I am still alive. Jockeys have to be tough because when they don't ride they don't get paid. There are no contracts in racing where you earn money even while injured. Jockeys must heal and mend as quickly as possible to continue earning a living and keep from losing business. While on the sidelines you can count on someone else riding your horses and possibly losing them for good. A career ending injury usually ends in paralysis or death. When I was told I would never ride again my heart sank. Everyday I don't ride a little piece of me is chipped away. Jockeys all know that it is not a matter of if you fall but when you fall and how bad.

Comaraderie

When people talk about camaraderie they need look no further than jockeys. It certainly is a wonder how they can compete against one another from morning till night and still treat each other as family. Everyone wants to win and when they don't they congratulate the winner as they get ready for the next race. Sportsmanship is not lost among these honorable men. I suppose that knowing you hold the lives of other men in your hands and that they hold yours in theirs it is no wonder how close a family they become. When a jockey is hurt the entire colony rallies around them to help and support them in a time of need. Fellow jockeys will take donations and give up riding fees, even winning ones, for their fallen comrade and their family. When I was hurt in an on track incident at Los Alamitos it was my friends who came to my aide and supported me and my family. Without their support we would not have been able to get by. In my case it was everyone that helped. The trainers, owners, fans, and the race track personnel all offered their support financially, spiritually, and emotionally. Jockey's are true champions of character and stand for what real men and women are all about. Though the Jockey's Guild is having to file for bankruptcy I am not worried that they will come out of this stronger and better than before, and that is the testament of all the jockey's who sacrifice there very lives to bring you an exciting sport. To all those who have helped me I thank you with all my heart.

MC Baze

Micheal Baze returns to racing at Snata Anita with a flury. Sitting on the sidelines for a suspension given to him at the end of the Del Mar season hasn't diminished his ability to ride winners. Over the weekend he was allowed to ride the oak tree mile stakes where he piloted out of control the 7/2 choice to victory. His first full day of riding began yesterday where he won three races on the card. At this rate he will surely again be at the top of the Santa Anita leader board. Michael Baze along with agent Nick Cosato have proven to be a strong combination on the Southern California circuit. MC Baze is proving to become the next big star of racing.

Race fixing

One of the first questions I am almost always asked is "you guys already know who's going to win, right?". The truth is that there are so many factors involved in racing that it is nearly impossible to fix the outcome of the race. First there is the human factor in which you have jockey's, trainer's, groom's, and exercise riders who all play a role in the time leading up to a horses race. The way a horse trains and feels leading up to the race has a lot to do with how they will run thier race. Then you have the animal factor in which you have a pack of live animals doing what they were trained to do which is compete. How a horse runs cannot always be determined by its' jockey. To be honest if fixing a race were so easy many jockeys would be very wealthy and retired rather than struggling and working long hours everyday. No jockey likes to lose under any circumstance. They are truly some of the most competetive people you will meet. The thrill and acomplishment of a win is more valuable than the dollar amount they receive. For Jockeys winning is all that matters and they ride to win every single race.

The horse jockey

Welcome to thehorsejockey.com. My name is Duane Brown and I am a retired jockey. I was disabled and unable to continue riding after an accident during a morning workout. My hopes for this sight was to give an insiders view to the world of racing. I will be discusing a number of subjects and posting interview with some of the top jockey's in the country. I will also try to give handicapping tips and picks for those who are looking to play the races. Inside the store you will find a number of good handicapping books for sale along with some of my favorite racing movies and documentaries. One book I strongly recomend is Mark Ripples Handicapping The Wall Street Way. Mark is a very good handicapper and I will be posting some of his picks as well. I hope this sight will appeal to all horse racing fans and give insight into the life of jockeys.

The truth about jockey earnings

Ever wondered about what jockey's realy make? The perception is that they make alot of money. Now the truth is that a handfull of the top jockeys do earn a good living but most struggle. A jockey earns roughly 50.00 a mount. From that 50.00, 10.00 will go to the jockey's guild if they are member, another 8.00 to the vallet( the person who saddles the horse and takes care of thier equipment), and finally 25% or 12.50 to the agent leaving them with a net total of about 19.50. Then there is the tip for the vallet. Now of course there are the exceptions of when a jockey wins he gets 10% of the owners share of the purse. Again that is the owners share of the purse which is 60%. Now unless you are riding at race tracks with 30,000.00 purses every race it is a hard way to make a living. Consider the hours spent working to earn those mounts as well. There morning begins between 5-6am where they work or gallop horses until around 10am. Then they will sometimes work out by running or go to the hot box to loose a few pounds and make wieght. By 12:00 they are ready to race and in the jocks room until the races are over roughly around 5:00. The day is long and there are many hours put in and some jockey only ride a couple of races a day. So of the thousands of jockeys who ride races most are not making very much to risk thier lives. Why then do they do it? It is for the love of the sport. The thrill, comradery, the competition, and the hope that they'll find that one horse that will propell them to the top of the game.