Rivelli, Valdivia Repeat With Titles at Arlington

Jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. continued a resurgence to his career with his third straight riding title at Arlington International Racecourse, while trainer Larry Rivelli also proved again to be the dominant force at the Chicago oval this year with his fourth straight title, and fifth overall, during the 71-day meeting that ended Sept. 23.

Vince Foglia's Patricia's Hope earned a third straight owner's title with 48 wins. William Stiritz was second with 24 wins.

Valdivia compiled 141 wins to capture the riding title. Runner-up Santo Sanjur had 57 victories. 

Valdivia's accomplishments are also noteworthy for his win percentage of 31%. No leading rider at Arlington has averaged a 30% win rate for the last 40 years in which statistics are available. In 1987 Pat Day led the Arlington meet with a winning percentage of 29%.

Rivelli set a new standard at Arlington as well, with a single-season record for training wins with 79, which passed Wayne Catalano's mark of 75 set in 2010. Catalano finished second with 28 wins this year.

Valdivia and Rivelli won 38% of their races together, for a total of 60 wins.

All three put an exclamation point on the meet with two wins together on the final card, capped by a runaway victory by Daddy's Boo in the Steve Morgan Memorial Stakes, going one mile over the turf. It was the fourth win at the meet for the 6-year-old daughter of Sweet Return (GB).