JC / Railbird

Retirement

Dominguez Retires

This game … it’s the best when you’re winning. It’s the worst when you’re losing. And today, racing is losing one of its most gracious, popular, and successful jockeys of recent years. Ramon Dominguez — at the peak of his career, winner of 4,985 races, earnings of almost $192 million, and the Eclipse award for riding 2010-2012 — announced that he is retiring due to a brain injury suffered in an accident at Aqueduct last January.

David Grening has reactions from the New York racing community in his report on this morning’s news: “It’s just devastating to lose someone like that in our industry,” said Steve Rushing, the rider’s agent. Many share the sentiment.

Good luck to Dominguez as he continues his recovery. He’ll be missed.

2:30 PM Addendum: Here’s a spreadsheet of Dominguez’s record in graded stakes 1999-2012 and lifetime stats by year, compiled by Equibase.

Posted in Racing on June 13, 2013 / Tagged Brain Injury, Jockeys, Lifetime Stats, New York, Ramon Dominguez, Retirement

Charming Buyers, Finding Homes

Susan Salk reports on the October 14 CANTER New England Suffolk Showcase, in which 80 Suffolk Downs racehorses were featured. Thirteen went to new homes that day, another eight left shortly after, and more are purchased each day as the meet gets closer to its end. Because of Hurricane Sandy, racing at Suffolk on Monday, October 29 has been cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday, November 3. (Hey, that’s means there’s live racing at Suffolk on Breeders’ Cup Saturday!) Saturday is the last day of racing for 2012; horses must be off the grounds by November 14. Check the CANTER New England listings to see the horses available, and check frequently — at this time of year, listings change almost daily.

Posted in Racing on October 28, 2012 / Tagged CANTER NE, OTTBs, Retirement, Second Careers, Suffolk Downs, Suffolk Showcase

Get Your Used Horses Here

The 2012 Suffolk Downs meet ends on October 31, and CANTER New England will be helping move horses from the racetrack to second careers over the next three weeks. Those new jobs can be diverse:

“One of our buyers,” noted Montfort, “trained the horse for mounted skeet shooting. Hey, whatever works. The owner’s happy, and so is the horse. That’s all we’re looking for.”

Find your OTTB: Browse the CANTER listings.

Posted in Racing on October 13, 2012 / Tagged CANTER NE, OTTBs, Retirement, Suffolk Downs, Suffolk Showcase