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Stevens Ends Riding Career

It was hardly a Hollywood ending, but Gary Stevens’ last ride wasn’t a bad one. The jockey announced his retirement on Friday, citing injuries and difficulty making weight as reasons for ending his successful riding career, in which he won 5,005 races and more than $220 million in purses. On Saturday, he finished second in his final race, aboard the Patrick Biancone-trained Louve Royale. Despite the loss, Stevens told the thousands of fans that gave him a standing ovation at Churchill Downs that he was leaving as “the happiest guy in the world“:

“I’ve absolutely loved what I’ve done for the past 27 years, but I’m not sad about leaving the saddle. I’m walking into a new chapter of my life, and I’m very excited about that.”

Stevens isn’t out of racing entirely. The Hall of Fame rider will begin working for TVG in January as an on-camera analyst.

Posted in Jockeys on November 27, 2005

Michel Lapensee, 1947-2005

Talk to a jockey about the dangers of riding and they’ll point out that they’re the only athletes followed by an ambulance. The statement is both fatalistic joke and stark acknowledgment of fact. No jockey gets through a career without injuries; an unfortunate few are permanently disabled or killed riding. Such was the fate of Michel Lapensee, who died last Friday from injuries he suffered in an accident at Suffolk Downs on October 24.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in a Providence church this morning to remember and honor the 58-year-old rider as a husband, father, colleague, and friend. The ceremony was simple and emotional, a burial mass followed by two eulogists. Lapensee’s niece read from a piece she wrote while her uncle lay in intensive care, in which she touched on the question that must have crossed the minds of many others when they heard the news of Lapensee’s death — “Was feeling at one with an animal … worth this?” She was followed by an old friend of Lapensee, who recalled his humor and graciousness, his love of fishing, and his passion for racing. “I can still hear his voice, from when he broke his maiden at Green Mountain. He was in front of me, yelling, ‘I’m going to win, I’m going to win!'” It was that thrill and joy that kept Lapensee at the track long after most jockeys have retired. Walking away from the sport was “never an option,” Lapensee’s son, Michel Jr., told the Boston Globe.

In his 38-year career, Lapensee won 2,678 races from more than 20,000 starts. “When my dad was working,” said Michel Jr., “he was one with the horse.” Lapensee is best known for riding Playing Politics, who in 1998, at the age of 16, became the oldest horse to ever win a race at Suffolk Downs. “He was the oldest racehorse of his generation and would not have achieved the honor without the help and companionship of one Michel Lapensee,” writes Paul Daley in his remembrance of the jockey.

“Mike got on the horse and gave his best,” said trainer Mario DeStefano. On October 24, Lapensee climbed aboard Mecke’s Money for that afternoon’s ninth race. On the far turn, the six-year-old gelding broke his left front cannon bone and fell, throwing Lapensee. It was a $4,000 claiming race. There was no glory to be had but that inherent in riding a thoroughbred at top speed, in doing his best on the racetrack. Lapensee’s dedication to riding kept him coming back, doing the only work he knew and loved, and in the end, it killed him. Was feeling at one with an animal worth a man’s death? That’s impossible to answer. But the presence of so many this morning testified that a life spent riding was not a life spent in vain.

Posted in Jockeys, Suffolk Downs on November 3, 2005

The Journeyman

Larry Lee Palmer profiles jockey Victor Mercado, injured on Labor Day in an accident at Emerald Downs (Post-Intelligencer):

“Que pasa?” Victor would ask, “How’s it going?” His heroes would nod, stop and joke.

But Victor Mercado never hit the big time. Few do. Maybe his English wasn’t very good. Maybe he never got the right agent, or found a trainer with faith and a long string of horses.

So, like many in his trade, Victor Mercado became a journeyman. He worked anywhere he could get mounts. Soon he had a family. He had obligations. He worked bullrings and county fairs up and down the West Coast. He rode at Tillamook and Walla Walla, Dayton and Kennewick, Playfair and Portland Meadows, even Prescott and Turf Paradise in Arizona when the season turned.

His best years were at Longacres. He was among the top 10 riders for years. The stat sheet says he ranks 26th in victories on a racetrack that doesn’t exist anymore.

Mercado may not ride again. A fund for his support has been started. To donate, send contributions to the Victor Mercado Relief Fund, Washington Mutual, 24A Street, Auburn WA 98002, or call 253-833-8700.

Posted in Jockeys on September 21, 2005

Apprentice Paralyzed

Charles Town apprentice Shannon Campbell was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident on Saturday night (Daily Racing Form). It was an accident at another West Virginia track last year that left jockey Gary Birzer paralyzed and sparked the jockeys’ insurance dispute last fall, which resulted in several tracks raising jockeys’ insurance coverage to $1 million. Charles Town, amazingly, wasn’t among that group. Its insurance remains capped at ~~$100,000~~ $50,000. Campbell’s colleagues will be meeting with Jockeys’ Guild representatives to discuss setting up a fund to cover her medical bills.

Posted in Jockeys on July 13, 2005

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