It is challenging for us jockeys — Ian ‘Dolly Baby’ Spence
Exhausting hours, the constant watching of weight, and risks of being injured are the regular realities of life as a jockey anywhere in the world. Although those issues naturally affect jockeys riding in competitive races, riders also face those dangers on the exercise track every morning they get up on a horse. With racing at […]
Remembering Venice
BY GLEN MOHAMMED NOTE FROM QUICKGALLOP.COM – The following article was first published in the Trinidad Guardian. “It has a nice bounce.” This was how the late Venice “Pappy” Richards described the turf track after inspecting it on race mornings at Santa Rosa Park. Richards, 76, died on Monday at the Humming Bird stud farm […]
Broke and alone – Master jockey Venice Richards should not have died the way he did
BY LANCE WHITTAKER KINGSTON, Jamaica - Venice “Pappy” Richards is statistically the greatest jockey in southern Caribbean thoroughbred racing history, and the story of his death last week in Trinidad and Tobago is heartbreaking. Barbadian Richards, after enduring months of fading health and failing eyesight, sadly passed away last Monday evening, destitute and alone, in […]
US RACING: Jockey Tyler Gaffalione continues good form at Gulfstream Park in Florida
Tyler Gaffalione continued his hot start for the spring/summer meet at Gulfstream Park on Sunday last by riding three winners, giving the 25-year-old rising star a total of 13 victories for the first four days. Gaffalione, who finished fourth in the standings during the recently concluded 2019-2020 championship meet with 67 winners, had visited the […]
US RACING: Massive dip in horse racing wagering in United States
Perhaps the most surprising number in the Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators, released April 3 by Equibase, is that pari-mutuel handle is down only one per cent for the first quarter of 2020. In March, many tracks throughout the United States were forced to close, and others ran without spectators following the COVID-19 outbreak. The cancelled […]
AUSTRALIA RACING - ‘It’s quite eerie’: horses race on in Australia, Asia
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Punters in the UK had to make do with a Virtual Grand National last weekend, but in Australia and Asia they are still able to enjoy a flutter on the real thing, albeit only online. Sydney’s autumn racing festival burst out of the gates Saturday (April 4) to little fanfare, on […]
UK RACING: Virtual Grand National raises spirits and real cash for National Health Service
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Former Wales rugby star Jonathan Davies wanted one small matter cleared up as part-owner of the big race-winner Potters Corner at Aintree last Saturday: “So is there Virtual Grand National prize money?”. With the world’s most famous steeplechase falling victim to the coronavirus shutdown, the computer-generated edition, now in its […]
It was really different without spectators, leading jockey Dane Nelson gives his take
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Turning for home without the sound of fans vociferously screaming and shouting from the stands, and posing in the winners’ enclosure flanked by only photographers with no applause from racegoers were all new aspects of racing experienced for the first time by leading rider Dane Nelson. All this because on Tuesday, March […]
RACING NEWS FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2020
Justsaytheword a rare winner for Andre Martin Justsaytheword (Nuclear Wayne – Dontsayaword), who has not been worse than third in his last five starts, produced a strong run in deep stretch to beat rivals in a Restricted Allowance event for native-bred five-year-olds and upwards — non-winners of two. Jockey Andre Martin, kept the Randolph Scott-trainee […]
Trainer Ian Parsard continues his elite 2020 form with two winners – Saturday, March 21, 2020 - the analysis
KINGSTON, Jamaica - In the absence of spectators, including owners, there is a stark reality that something is terribly amiss in terms of the current lack of atmosphere as the second day of spectator-less races under anti-coronavirus restrictions unfolded. Odds-on favourite Alex’s Star (Dane Nelson) thought to be invincible was anything but, as after turning […]