Jockey Lynch Finding Success in Maryland

Jockey Feargal Lynch has put the past behind him and has been making some noise during the current Pimlico Race Course meet.

The Irish-born Lynch, 37, is a former champion apprentice in England who won more than a hundred races in his first United States visit in 2009, mostly at Parx Racing where his brother, trainer Cathal Lynch, was based.

The jockey, however, had to return to England to answer charges from the British Horseracing Authority that he kept a horse from winning and passed along inside information in 2004. He was cleared of race-fixing charges in December 2007.

Lynch rode in the U.S., Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, and Dubai, and was granted a full riding license in Great Britain again in July 2015. Soon after, he recounted his experiences in an educational video on integrity for the BHA.

"Looking back, it has cost me everything," Lynch said in the video. "I've lost 10 years of my riding career that I'll never get back. I'll never be able to wipe the slate clean and everybody will forget about it. It's going to stay with me now for the rest of my life."

"It is only now, 11 years since the offenses I committed, that I feel I can finally close the book on that chapter of my life."

Through the racing of June 16 at Pimlico, Lynch topped the jockey standings with 22 wins in a tightly contested race. Victor Carrasco and Trevor McCarthy are second and third, respectively, with 21 and 20 victories; Jevian Toledo is next with 17. The meet ends June 26.

It represents a change of fortune for Lynch, who spent the winter at Gulfstream Park and came away with four wins in 114 starts at the Florida track.

"Two weeks to go in the meet, I'm just happy to be here," Lynch told Maryland Jockey Club media officials. "I've been riding for a lot of good trainers and good owners and getting a lot of support. Scotty Silver, my agent, is doing a great job. I'm just looking to ride as many winners as possible."

Lynch has won for more than a dozen different trainers including meet leader Kieron Magee, a fellow Irishman, as well as his brother, who is now based at Laurel Park in Maryland.

"We weren't sure how it was going to work out," Cathal Lynch said. "He had a little bit of a slow meet in the winter at Gulfstream, but when he got up here he got lucky right off the bat and won a couple big races for us. Kieron Magee has been a big help to give him a few live rides, and when you're riding for those kinds of guys you're going to do well.

"He's very confident. He does his homework. He's one of the best-educated jockeys you'll find in the jocks' room, not just on the horse he rides but everything else in the race. We live and breathe horses. It's not a job for us; it's a way of life."

As for his brother's past, Cathal Lynch said: "You're talking stuff that happened when he was a kid. Thank God my mistakes didn't get blown up as big as his did. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They made a bit of a mountain out of a molehill in my opinion, but I'm his brother so I guess I'm going say that. In the big court it was dismissed."

Feargal Lynch, who first rode in the U.S. under the first name of Fergal because his name was misspelled on his passport, said he plans to remain in Maryland for the Laurel summer meet and beyond.

"It's great having family here," he said of having his brother in Maryland. "It really makes you feel at home and makes things easier. I ride a lot for him and he's always there for advice and help. It's just nice to have family and friends around me.

"There are very good riders here and very good up-and-coming riders, as well, that will be stars of the future, I think, if they keep going the right way and keep their heads down and work hard. I think there are big opportunities here.

"Maryland is going the right way. The Stronach Group and everybody, it has got a lot of support behind it and it seems to be a good place to be for the breeders, for owners, for trainers, for jockeys."