Hall of Fame Jockeys Square Off at Pimlico
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Hall of Fame jockeys John Velazquez and Mike Smith finish first and second in the 2012 Belmont Stakes. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
Baltimore will be bubbling with anticipation for Saturday's Preakness Stakes this week, and that excitement will really begin to swell on Friday afternoon for an action-packed card at Pimlico Race Course. However, in addition to the Pimlico Special and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, Pimlico will also host the Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge on Friday.
The Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge pits seven Hall of Fame jockeys against one another to compete over the course of four races (Friday's races 2, 4, 6, and 8 at Pimlico) for their share of the $50,000 grand prize ($20,000 to first place).
While there is a good chance you have heard of each of the jockeys in the competition (after all, they are all Hall of Famers!), you might the details about what made them world-class riders. Below is a "cheat sheet" so that you are up to speed for the Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge!
1) Russell Baze
Born: Aug. 7, 1958 in Vancouver, British Columbia
Career wins: 12,253 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $189,696,037 (through May 12)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999
Russell Baze is the all-time leader in victories for a jockey in North America. He passed Laffit Pincay, Jr. in 2006. Baze has done most of his best work in California over the years, particularly in the Bay area, where he is extremely popular. Baze has led the nation in wins in a calendar year 10 times.
2) Calvin Borel
Born: Nov. 7, 1966 in Saint Martin Parish, La.
Career wins: 5,061 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $123,258,580 (through May 12)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013
Calvin Borel is most famous for his three Kentucky Derby victories: Street Sense (2007), Mine That Bird (2009) and Super Saver (2010). Borel, however, states that the best horse he has ever ridden was filly Rachel Alexandra, with whom he won the 2009 Preakness Stakes. Calvin Borel is quite popular in the Midwest, where he is a common fixture at racetracks like Churchill Downs and Oaklawn Park. Borel rides the filly Ria Antonia in Saturday’s Preakness.
3) Kent Desormeaux
Born: Feb. 27, 1970 in Maurice, La.
Career wins: 5,548 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $250,526,172 (through May 12)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004
Kent Desormeaux is a two-time Eclipse Award winning jockey who also has an Eclipse Award for being champion apprentice jockey in 1987. Although he was born in Louisiana, Desormeaux will be making a “homecoming” of sorts in the Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge as he spent his early riding years in Maryland. Desormeaux has won two-thirds of the Triple Crown in the same year on two separate occasions, with Real Quiet (1998) and Big Brown (2008).
4) Edgar Prado
Born: June 12, 1967 in Lima, Peru
Career wins: 6,707 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $252,558,895 (through May 12)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008
Similar to Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado is another jockey who will be making a “homecoming” by riding in the Jockey Challenge at Pimlico. Prado lead the nation in wins in 1997, 1998, and 1999 all while making Maryland his riding base. Prado is well known for his time as Barbaro’s jockey in 2006, and has also won two Belmont Stakes (aboard Sarava and Birdstone). Edgar Prado has been injured for much of the first half of 2014, but returned to the races last week and won two races at Gulfstream Park on Sunday, May 11 in advance of the Jockey Challenge.
5) Mike Smith
Born: Aug. 10, 1965 in Roswell, N.M.
Career wins: 5,170 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $252,577,446 (through May 12)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003
Mike Smith got his jockey’s license at the age of 16 in his native New Mexico in 1982 and has enjoyed an illustrious career since that point. Smith has won more Breeders’ Cup races than any other jockey with 20, and he became very popular as the regular rider of champion Zenyatta. Smith is one of few jockeys to have ridden at the highest level on both coasts, having been an Eclipse Award-winning jockey on two occasions (1993 and 1994) while riding primarily on the East Coast before making Southern California his riding home starting in 2000.
6) Alex Solis
Born: March 25, 1964 in Panama City, Panama
Career wins: 4,981 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $238,399,154 (through May 12)
To be inducted into the Hall of Fame in August, 2014
Although he has spent the majority of his career in California, Alex Solis is no stranger to Pimlico Race Course, having won the 1986 Preakness with Snow Chief at the age of 22. Solis probably had his biggest day at the Breeders’ Cup in 2003, where he finished in a dead-heat for the win in the Turf with Johar before following with a win in the Classic aboard Pleasantly Perfect (Solis also won the Dubai World Cup with Pleasantly Perfect in 2004). Solis is the only rider in the 2014 Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge to not technically have his place in the Hall of Fame Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as this year he was voted into the Hall of Fame status and will be formally inducted this summer.
7) John Velazquez
Born: Nov. 24, 1971 in Carolina, Puerto Rico
Career wins: 5,133 (through May 12)
Career earnings: $308,625,096 (through May 12)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012
John Velazquez is a two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey and is one of the most popular riders in both New York and South Florida. Velazquez is also the all-time leader in earnings for a jockey, and is the only jockey to have eclipsed the $300-million mark. Velazquez won the 2011 Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom and has countless riding titles to his name in New York.