Paychecks Being Decided by Inches… and Photos
It’s a game of inches (and photo finishes) this summer for the riders in Shakopee where increased purses have expanded the jockey colony and spread out available horses. Sunday, for instance, there was a different rider in the winner’s circle after each race. Competition is the name of the game, for mounts of any kind […]
Video: The Life of a Jockey
Jockeys may be the strongest athletes pound-for-pound in the world. Their task is certainly not easy as they’re required to control a one thousand pound horse running at full speed in the tightest of situations. Rider Ry Eikleberry and his valet talk about what it’s like in the day of a life of a rider […]
Like Father, Like Son
If Brandon Meier wins the Kentucky Derby some day or, say, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, there is another lesser race that will command an adjacent spot in his memory. Riding with the bug in 2008, he was on a horse making the turn for home and came off the fence just enough to let the […]
Canterbury Jockeys Make Plans
Some of the trailers are lined up like sentries on the backside, ready to receive their cargo when the meet officially closes on Monday. They have been swept out and lined with fresh straw in anticipation of the awaiting trip, to farms where their cargo will be turned out or to other racetracks where they […]
One Mystery Solved?
Maybe, just maybe, a five-year struggle came to an end for Derek Bell on Thursday, and he can resume his life on the racing circuit. Bell has been conducting an unending battle since being ruled off the track at Tampa Bay Downs along with several other riders in January of 2007 for undisclosed charges. Those […]
If the Glove Fits…
Contrary to what you’ve heard previously, you can go home again. Not only that, but you can arrive on a triumphant note with everything just short of blaring trumpets. Alex Canchari did just that Friday night. He came home and rode the winning horse in the fifth race, at the same racetrack where his father […]
