2011 Belmont Stakes Jockeys
Written by Jack Jones - Google +
Jockeys can make all of the difference in a horse race. They can just as easily lose a race for a horse as win it, so the importance of having a good rider on board cannot be overlooked. The 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes is set to get underway this weekend on Saturday, June 11th. I’m going to give a brief history of the jockeys in the Belmont, while also listing a few names to keep your eye on.
Eddie Arcaro is the record-holder with six victories in the Belmont over 22 career starts. You could argue that Bill Shoemaker is the best jockey of all-time for this race. He has the highest winning percentage (.454) ever with five wins in 11 mounts. Edgar Prado is the only active jockey with more than one Belmont victory. He won in 2002 with Sarava to spoil War Emblem’s Triple Crown run, while coming back in 2004 aboard Birdstone to put an end to Smarty Jones’s Triple Crown bid. He will not be among the riders in 2011, though.
Notable Jockeys for the Belmont
John Velazquez (Animal Kingdom) – What’s most amazing about this jockey is the fact that he didn’t land on Animal Kingdom until the day before the Kentucky Derby. He couldn’t have rode a better Derby, but some believe that he may have cost this horse a win at the Preakness. He was relying on Shackleford to fade down the stretch and simply fell too far behind to catch up. Trailing by 18 lengths at one point, Animal Kingdom closed strong but fell a half-length short at the finish line.
Velazquez has won the Belmont before, riding a masterful race aboard Rags to Riches in 2007. He is starting to pile up Triple Crown wins and will be bidding for his second this year Saturday. He’ll have to overcome some history that shows a win is unlikely. Thunder Gulch was the last horse to win the Derby and the Belmont in the same year, which came back in 1995.
Ramon Dominguez (Mucho Macho Man) – The biggest move before the Belmont came when Dominguez replaces Rajiv Maragh aboard Mucho Macho Man. Maragh didn’t get as much out of the horse as he could in either the Derby or the Preakness. While Dominguez has never won a Triple Crown or a Breeders’ Cup race, he has led the nations in wins twice. You’ll find him atop the leaderboard again this season in victories heading into the Belmont, and he won the Eclipse Award for top jockey last year. This change on the saddle should have Mucho Macho Man running up to his potential Saturday.
Corey Nakatani (Nehro) – At 40 years of age, Nakatani isn’t the same rider he once was. This guy won seven Breeders’ Cup races from 1996 to 2006, but he has yet to notch a Triple Crown victory on his belt. Nehro is getting a lot of backing early, just as he did in the Derby. This is a horse that is certainly capable of handing Nakatani his first Triple Crown win. The problem is that this race is being held in Elmont, New York, and Nakatani has had almost all of his success on the west coast.
Jesus Castanon (Shackleford) – Castanon finally broke through for his first-ever Triple Crown win in the Preakness this year. Leading up to that race, he was certainly one of the best jockeys in the worst to never taste a Triple Crown victory. With over 2000 career wins to his credit, it was only a matter of time for this guy. He utilized Shackleford’s front-running style very well in both the Florida Derby and the Preakness. He got his horse near the lead early despite a very fast pace, and still had Shackleford moving forward at the finish line.
Shaun Bridgmohan (Santiva) – While he has never been aboard a horse in the Belmont, Bridgmohan has plenty of experience in the other Triple Crown races as well as the Breeders’ Cup. He has never won either of those events, but he is aboard a live horse in Santiva here. This horse was much better than he showed in the Derby after getting caught up in traffic. He has the pedigree that shows the Belmont is likely his best race of the Triple Crown events. With Bridgmohan’s track knowledge after spending several seasons as a regular at Belmont, Santiva might just shock the world Saturday.
Got something to say?
