reflections-golden-age-california-jockeys

[journalstuff]

reflections-golden-age-california-jockeys

http://www.drf.com/news/hovdey-reflections-golden-age-california-jockeys


“I think the colony is deeper in the East than in California, and that’s primarily because of the number of horses,” Stevens said. “I’m not saying there’s a lack of talented riders in California, but there is a lack of opportunity. And if you’re not getting opportunities, how do you improve, or even show what talent you’ve got? It’s tough to make  things happen in a five-horse field.

“When I came down from Seattle nobody knew who I was,” Stevens said. “I started getting opportunities on longshots, but in those days the fields were big enough that you might ride a 15-1 shot that had a  chance, and if you put it in the right spot you could win. That’s what caught people’s attention.”

Stevens maintains it is not only geographic isolation and field size that retards the development of talent out West.

“Jockeys today are faced with the super stables in California – the Bafferts, the O’Neills, the Sadlers, even Peter Miller now,” Stevens said. “If you’re not tied in with one of those barns you’re not going to get that opportunity. We all know how the game goes: We see the same guys riding the favorites in every race, favorites win about 30 percent of the time, and people look at winning percentages when they pick their riders. How do you break into that?

“Mario Gutierrez is a good example,” he said. “Doug O’Neill and Paul  Reddam gave him a shot with I’ll Have Another and other horses, and he came through. But there weren’t any other barns behind him, so he left, even though I don’t think we’ve seen more than the tip of the iceberg in terms of his ability.

“I’ve had several young riders ask me about coming out to California,” Stevens said. “I tell them they’d better come with a big stable, otherwise they’re probably not going to get the opportunities they deserve. I’m not knocking Southern California racing, but we are on an island, and it doesn’t look like things are going to change soon.”

Bejarano, Rosario, and Talamo are among the top 10 on the National Earnings List for Southern California Jockeys. But Rosario is a Californian no more.

[journalstuff]

Jay made a chart of the earnings list of riders that made top 15 from southern california. I think 1992 was when so. Cal was at its best:


1982:
Rk.    Jockey    Wins    Earnings
1    Angel Cordero Jr.    397    $9,702,520
2   LAFFIT PINCAY JR.    302    9,076,024
3   CHRIS MCCARRON    313    7,392,914
4   EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE    208    6,987,982
5    Jorge Velasquez    287    6,867,072
6    Don MacBeth    199    4,973,469
7    Jeffrey Fell    191    4,842,867
8    Pat Day    399    4,744,558
9   BILL SHOEMAKER    113    4,691,342
10    Eddie Maple    167    4,497.407
11    Jean-Luc Samyn    157    4,380,502
12   SANDY HAWLEY    176    4,019,183
13   PAT VALENZUELA    181    3,993,698
14   RAY SIBILLE    167    3,930,453
15    Randy Romero    295    3,857,935


1992:
Rk.    Jockey    Wins    Earnings
1   KENT DESORMEAUX    361    $14,193,006
2   CHRIS MCCARRON    193    12,861,946
3   EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE    270    12,752,971
4    Pat Day    291    12,557,077
5   GARY STEVENS    250    11,201,577
6    Mike Smith    314    11,087,541
7    Jerry Bailey    227    10,865,789
8   PAT VALENZUELA    219    10,268,342
9    Julie Krone    282    9,220,824
10   ALEX SOLIS    228    8,835,192
11   LAFFIT PINCAY JR.    194    7,339,460
12    Chris Antley    210    6,987,380
13    Herbert McCauley    166    6,782,113
14   DAVID FLORES    197    6,703,815
15   COREY NAKATANI    190    6,414,067


2002:
Rk.    Jockey    Wins    Earnings
1    Jerry Bailey    213    $19,271,814
2    Edgar Prado    289    18,024,429
3    John Velazquez    289    16,361,445
4    Pat Day    258    15,904,396
5    Jorge Chavez    223    13,721,254
6   VICTOR ESPINOZA    188    12,590,646
7   PAT VALENZUELA    221    12,544,098
8   ALEX SOLIS    217    12,027,315
9    Jose Santos    176    11,917,955
10   KENT DESORMEAUX    160    11,675,207
11   MIKE SMITH    112    10,807,977
12    Robby Albarado    270    10,181,703
13   LAFFIT PINCAY JR.    205    9,568,457
14    Patrick Husbands    169    9,343,361
15    Javier Castellano    194    8,819,053

2012:
(Through Tuesday 9/4)
Rk.    Jockey    Wins    Earnings
1    Ramon Dominguez    234    $16,496,076
2    Javier Castellano    237    15,540,437
3   RAFAEL BEJARANO    203    12,664,782
4    John Velazquez    137    12,098,916
5   JOEL ROSARIO*    154    9,886,974
6    Julien Leparoux    132    9,577,080
7    Rosie Napravnik    143    8,677,726
8   JOE TALAMO    147    8,639,249
9    Jose Lezcano    131    8,505,172
10    Junior Alvarado    136    8,178,955
11   MIKE SMITH    49    6,766,555
12    Cornelio Velasquez    133    6,622,284
13    Luis Contreras    115    6,597,870
14    Rajiv Maragh    104    6,332,758
15   COREY NAKATANI    81    6,082,744
*Rosario relocated to New York in June