Page 100 - November 2021

FINANCIAL PLANNING
some talk going around that a rider was needed. The people talking were trying to decide who to put on a horse and my name came up. An agent mentioned me and said that I can’t hold ‘em. I said, ‘I can’t hold ‘em, I’m just gonna let ‘em run. I’m gonna let ‘em go.’ And after that I ended up getting the mount,” said Tami.
JOE BADILLA
“Being a jockey is like a drug. You’re on adrenaline. The moments are
so phenomenal when you win,” said Joe. He really put it into perspective formeasto how being a
jockey can deliver a mind-blowing nirvana. Joe said his favorite horse to ride had to be World Champion Whosleavingwho, winner of 23 races. Joe explained how he felt about being able to retire on his own terms. “It was slightly premature due to my accidents, but you know what you are heading into.
I maybe could have ridden a couple more years, but I feel content with the decisions
I made.” I asked Joe if he would’ve done anything different, and he said he would’ve tried to educate and help the community more. “I would educate riders more. I felt like I was a leader and had a different level
of mentality. Looking back, I wish I wouldn’t have kept that a secret from other jockeys,” said Joe. Like many others, Joe told me his dad was the most influential. He taught him
by putting the basics on him, but the rest was self-made. Joe also told me G.R. Carter was influential to his career. They were always
in competition. “It’s like family in the jocks room. All credit to my dad for teaching me the basics,” said Joe. “My best career year was 1999. Won the All American Futurity and the Texas Classic.”
DANNY CARDOZA
“I wouldn’t change anything about my career. Nobody had as much fun as me,” said Danny, as I asked him about anything he’d
do differently. Danny said that World Champion Dashs Dream was
his favorite horse to ride. “She was the smartest horse and had the most talent.” This led into us talking about the year of 1984 and how special that year was. “That was when Dashs Dream was a three year old. She won every race she started in that year. I won the All American Derby and the Champion of Champions. That was the same year I rode First Down Dash as a two year old. I remember him being awful fast for a two year old.” The most influential person to Danny was Don Ferris. “He got me started breaking colts and working horses.” Eventually, Danny retired in 1993. He said he would still be doing it if it wasn’t for his knees giving out.
Below is a table that I created showing the best year by purse earnings for each of the
jockeys mentioned above. I inflated the total annual earnings to today’s dollars to show the effect of inflation over the years. The data shown is from AQHA and the adjusted earnings is calculated through the US inflation calculator.
As you can see from the chart, the effect of inflation is more significant than most people realize. In some cases, the adjusted earnings are double what the actual earnings are. This chart puts in perspective how impressive these careers were. Some of the purse earnings seem smaller today but back in the day, the earnings were quite significant. Recent economic reports have shown the consumer price index (CPI) to have surged 5.4% year over year. Our opinion is, this cost of living is not transitory, but rather, a fundamental shift. Inflation was reported at 5.3% in August
of 2021. The U.S. dollar isn’t what it used to be. One way to compete with the rising inflation
is the stock market. If you aren’t allowing
your money to grow for you, then the value is depreciating every day as it sits at the bank. The rule of thumb is – invest a minimum of 10% of your earnings.
Contacting a trustworthy financial advisor could very well be in your best interest as we see inflation rising at an alarming rate. I hope that I was able to illustrate that without a doubt, a dollar aint worth a dime no more.
I’d like to thank each of the seven jockeys that I had the privilege to interview. It was incredible to hear some stories about each
of their careers. After interviewing each
jockey, I realized that they all had something in common. Each of them had resilience, determination, and a strong work ethic. Without just one of those key ingredients, their careers may have turned out much differently. Make every day count!
Jockey
G.R. Carter
Joe Badilla
Kip Didericksen
Cody Jensen
Tami Purcell
Danny Cardoza
James Lackey
Best Year by Earnings
2008
1999
1991
2009
1997
1984
1989
Highest Annual Earnings
$ 5,025,250
$ 3,638,199
$ 2,589,249
$ 3,583,118
$ 1,906,832
$ 935,758
$ 655,708
Inflation Adjusted Annual Earnings
$ 6,385,153
$ 5,974,137
$ 5,200,683
$ 4,569,015
$ 3,250,133
$ 2,463,836
$ 1,446,613
Highlights from that season
G.R. Becomes all-time leading money earner
Wins All-American Futurity aboard A Delightful Dasher
Wins 10 races aboard Corona Cash
Wins All-American Derby aboard Inseparable
Wins All-American Futurity aboard Corona Cash
Wins All-American Derby aboard Dashs Dream
Wins QHBC Championship Classic aboard Cash Legacy
98 SPEEDHORSE November 2021