Top Jockeys Battle For Horse Racing’s Top Honor – The 2011 George Woolf Award

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, awarded since 1950 by Santa Anita Park, is considered one of the most prestigious honors a rider in North America can earn. The award is presented annually to a jockey “whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing,” Santa Anita Park said in a press release.

This year's five finalists are Ramon Dominguez, Corey Lanerie, Martin Pedroza, DeShawn Parker and Scott Stevens. The winner will be decided by a vote of fellow jockeys and will be announced in January.

The George Woolf Award is named in honor of the Hall of Fame jockey, whose perhaps best known to many as the pilot of Seabiscuit in his match race with War Admiral. The Woolf Award trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue of George Woolf that sits in the Santa Anita paddock. The statue was built following Woolf's death from a racing accident at Santa Anita on Jan. 13, 1946.

Dominguez was the 2010 Eclipse Award-winning jockey when he led all riders with over $18 million in purse earnings. The native of Caracas, Venezuela has been riding since 1996 ...
... and has won 13 New York Racing Association riding titles.

Lanerie surpassed 3,000 career wins on Feb. 3 and is considered a consummate professional among horsemen. The Louisiana native rides mostly at Fair Grounds and Churchill Downs, but has also won riding titles at three Texas tracks—Retama Park, Lone Star Park and Sam Houston.

Pedroza has been a fixture on the Southern California circuit since 1983. He is the all-time leading rider at Fairplex Park in Pomona with 682 victories and 14 riding titles. He also has more than 3,000 career wins.

DeShawn Parker makes his base at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia. Standing 5'10”, the 42-year-old Cincinnati is one of the more unlikely jockeys riding today. He led all North American riders with 377 wins in 2010 and is looking for his second crown this year.

Parker was the first African-American rider to lead the nation in wins since 1895, according to Santa Anita.

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