(Jockey Chris Landeros is one of the top contenders for this year’s riding title at Turfway Park / Photo Courtesy of Keeneland)
Wow. It is a tight, tight, tight race at Turfway Park.
And, we are just talking about the jockeys.
After Saturday night’s racing was completed, there are three riders within a single win of each other in the race to become the meet’s top jockey.
Newcomer Santiago Gonzalez has inched ahead by a lone win now, with 22 trips to the winner’s circle so far. In 136 mounts, Gonzalez has compiled a record of 22-15-15. His win percentage is .16% and his horses have finished “In the Money” .38% of the time.
Just a win back and tied for second are Chris Landeros and Gerardo Corrales.
Landeros, who stayed behind for the winter meet at Turfway Park for the first time, has a resume of 21 wins, 14 seconds and 2 thirds. But he has done it with only 76 mounts, to date. That ratio makes Landeros the run-away leader in terms of win percentage. His mounts are scoring at a .28% win clip.
Corrales, a perennial favorite to win the riding title at Turfway Park, has had to miss several race dates with some “Steward-mandated” time off. But he has a record of 21-9-12 in 91 mounts.
What is more interesting?
The leading rider in terms of purses won? None of those three. It is veteran expert Rafael Bejarano, who has a record of 16-24-13 in 93 rides. But his horses have won over $346,000 in purse money. And, Bejarano’s horses are hitting the board at a .57% rate. That makes him tops in that category, too.
Turfway Park’s Current Jockey Standings:
1 | Rafael Bejarano | 93 | 16 | 24 | 13 | $346,640 | 17% | 53 | 57% |
2 | Chris Landeros | 76 | 21 | 14 | 2 | $342,100 | 28% | 37 | 49% |
3 | Santiago Gonzalez | 136 | 22 | 15 | 15 | $333,232 | 16% | 52 | 38% |
4 | Gerardo Corrales | 91 | 21 | 9 | 12 | $294,446 | 23% | 42 | 46% |
5 | Albin Jimenez | 107 | 9 | 13 | 10 | $205,971 | 8% | 32 | 30% |
6 | Deshawn L. Parker | 96 | 10 | 10 | 10 | $169,258 | 10% | 30 | 31% |
7 | Emmanuel Esquivel | 67 | 7 | 5 | 5 | $162,116 | 10% | 17 | 25% |
8 | Rafael Manuel Hernandez | 73 | 6 | 5 | 12 | $145,353 | 8% | 23 | 32% |
9 | John McKee | 84 | 6 | 8 | 14 | $116,043 | 7% | 28 | 33% |
10 | Declan Cannon | 50 | 4 | 5 | 6 | $111,324 | 8% | 15 | 30% |
11 | Edgar Morales | 61 | 3 | 6 | 6 | $100,271 | 5% | 15 | 25% |
12 | Perry Wayne Ouzts | 64 | 8 | 4 | 3 | $94,530 | 13% | 15 | 23% |
13 | Rodney A. Prescott | 80 | 3 | 7 | 8 | $91,250 | 4% | 18 | 23% |
14 | Samuel E. Bermudez | 43 | 5 | 4 | 3 | $79,779 | 12% | 12 | 28% |
15 | Joseph D. Ramos | 85 | 4 | 7 | 8 | $79,743 | 5% | 19 | 22% |
16 | Rafael Mojica, Jr. | 52 | 4 | 2 | 5 | $65,975 | 8% | 11 | 21% |
17 | Jermaine V. Bridgmohan | 25 | 4 | 1 | 1 | $58,000 | 16% | 6 | 24% |
18 | Julie Burke | 39 | 1 | 5 | 3 | $55,270 | 3% | 9 | 23% |
19 | Rogelio Miranda | 66 | 3 | 3 | 7 | $47,340 | 5% | 13 | 20% |
20 | Alex L. Canchari | 52 | 3 | 4 | 2 | $42,808 | 6% | 9 | 17% |
21 | Angel Serpa | 63 | 1 | 4 | 5 | $31,770 | 2% | 10 | 16% |
22 | Gabriel Lagunes | 32 | 2 | 4 | 3 | $29,868 | 6% | 9 | 28% |
23 | Malcolm Franklin | 34 | 2 | 1 | 3 | $26,306 | 6% | 6 | 18% |
24 | Luis H. Colon | 15 | 2 | 0 | 4 | $20,091 | 13% | 6 | 40% |
25 | Javier Padron-Barcenas | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | $17,987 | 20% | 3 | 30% |
(Statistics Compiled by Equibase)
(Trainer Wesley Ward / Photo Courtesy of Keeneland)
Wesley Ward has a knack for spotting his horses in the right races. Some times that is at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Some times that is at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. Some times that may be at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
But, more and more, that is becoming Turfway Park. In Northern Kentucky.
And, like he does wherever he goes, Ward is enjoying success.
After Saturday’s races were done, Ward was standing atop the leaderboard in the race for Turfway Park’s leading trainer. In 35 races so far, Ward has a record of 11-6-1 and his horses have won over $151,000 in purses.
Two wins back, and alone in second, is HOF trainer Mark Casse, who left a string of horses in the Commonwealth this year to race over the “new and improved” Tapeta track surface at Turfway Park. And, the experiment has paid dividends, too. After 34 mounts so far, Casse’s barn has won 9 times and is the leading training operation in terms of purses won with over $168,000 in the satchel, so far.
Turfway Park’s Current Trainer Standings:
1 | Mark E. Casse | 35 | — | 9 | 1 | 4 | $168,555 | 26% | 14 | — | — |
2 | Wesley A. Ward | 35 | — | 11 | 6 | 1 | $151,040 | 31% | 18 | — | — |
3 | Michael J. Maker | 33 | — | 5 | 7 | 6 | $134,645 | 15% | 18 | — | — |
4 | William E. Morey | 23 | — | 6 | 5 | 2 | $133,720 | 26% | 13 | — | — |
5 | Rey Hernandez | 22 | — | 4 | 2 | 3 | $90,123 | 18% | 9 | — | — |
6 | Jonathan Thomas | 11 | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | $88,645 | 55% | 8 | — | — |
7 | Cipriano Contreras | 14 | — | 3 | 1 | 0 | $82,864 | 21% | 4 | — | — |
8 | Kim Hammond | 21 | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | $69,590 | 24% | 9 | — | — |
9 | Ben Colebrook | 19 | — | 2 | 2 | 3 | $68,459 | 11% | 7 | — | — |
10 | Eric R. Reed | 27 | — | 3 | 5 | 5 | $65,936 | 11% | 13 | — | — |
11 | Susan L. Anderson | 28 | — | 5 | 5 | 3 | $58,705 | 18% | 13 | — | — |
12 | Rodolphe Brisset | 13 | — | 2 | 4 | 0 | $54,867 | 15% | 6 | — | — |
13 | Larry Rivelli | 15 | — | 4 | 4 | 1 | $49,851 | 27% | 9 | — | — |
14 | Ian R. Wilkes | 16 | — | 2 | 3 | 1 | $48,768 | 13% | 6 | — | — |
15 | Eddie Kenneally | 17 | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | $44,736 | 6% | 5 | — | — |
16 | Michael W. McCarthy | 7 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | $43,281 | 14% | 5 | — | — |
17 | Eric N. Foster | 18 | — | 3 | 1 | 0 | $43,014 | 17% | 4 | — | — |
18 | Ethan W. West | 22 | — | 4 | 3 | 4 | $42,816 | 18% | 11 | — | — |
19 | Juan M. Cano | 22 | — | 1 | 3 | 3 | $42,331 | 5% | 7 | — | — |
20 | Timothy E. Hamm | 17 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | $40,191 | 6% | 5 | — | — |
21 | Paulo H. Lobo | 19 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | $39,749 | 11% | 5 | — | — |
22 | Steven F. Cahill | 8 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | $38,009 | 25% | 4 | — | — |
23 | Claude L. Brownfield, III | 16 | — | 2 | 4 | 1 | $37,225 | 13% | 7 | — | — |
24 | Douglas W. Danner | 6 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | $35,700 | 33% | 4 | — | — |
25 | John Alexander Ortiz | 18 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | $33,367 | 11% | 2 | — | — |
(Statistics Compiled by Equibase)