Page 14 - July 2019

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by Jennifer K. Hancock
SAM THOMPSON MEMORIAL NOMINEES
The nominations for the ninth annual Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award, which honors riders whose lives and character positively impact the Quarter Horse racing industry, both on and
off the racetrack, were recently announced. The 2019 nominees are: John Hamilton, Berkley Packer, Esgar Ramirez and Stormy Smith.
The Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey award is a peer-voted award. Ballots are mailed to Quarter Horse tracks around the country in June and July to be dis- tributed to the active jockey colony. The nominee with the most votes will be presented with the Sam Thomp- son Memorial Jockey Award during a special ceremony at Ruidoso Downs on Labor Day weekend.
The award is given in honor of the late Sam Thompson, a popular Quarter Horse jockey who was highly respected both on and off the racetrack. Thompson died in 2008 due to injuries sustained in a riding accident at Los Alamitos. A leader in
the jockeys’ room throughout his career, Thompson was a Jockeys’ Guild senator and the room repre- sentative at Los Alamitos. He was also a council member of the Los Alamitos division of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.
Developed as a joint effort between Speedhorse Magazine and the Jockeys’ Guild, the Sam Thomp- son Memorial Jockey Award was modeled after
the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Award for Thoroughbred riders. The Sam Thompson Memo- rial Jockey Award is the only one of its kind in the Quarter Horse industry.
Previous winners include: Roy Brooks in 2011, Gilbert Ortiz in 2012, G. R. Carter Jr. in 2013, Cody Jensen in 2014, Eddie Garcia in 2015, Ra- mon Sanchez in 2016, Cesar De Alba in 2017 and Ricky Ramirez in 2018.
SAM HOUSTON WRAPS UP 25TH SEASON
Sam Houston Race Park completed its 25th live annual Quarter Horse meet on May 25 with signifi- cant highlights in the Quarter Horse season.
The most prestigious race of the 2019 Sam Hous- ton Race Park Quarter Horse meet, the $459,700 Sam Houston Futurity-G2, was contested on May 3 with Trump My Record scoring his fourth victory of 2019 for owner Cruz E. Nava of Lytle, Texas.
Santiago Riojas Jr. won the first training title of his career at Sam Houston Race Park after saddling 25 winners.
Santiago Riojas Jr. won the first training title
of his career, saddling 25 winners for the meet to top last year’s leading horseman Leon Bard by 11 victories. The 27-year-old horseman has more than 100 horses in training and will run next at Delta Downs and then, Retama Park. Racing publicist Martha Claussen, who works tirelessly to promote the Sam Houston meet, wanted to ensure Riojas received proper recognition for his first title. She interviewed the 27-year-old trainer at the conclu- sion of the Sam Houston meet and shared the following excerpts.
Riojas grew up around horses as his father, Santiago, was a trainer in Mexico and then in Texas. He served as an assistant to the late Eusevio Huitron before going out on his own.
The younger Riojas started 101 Quarter Horses in Houston, and his 25 victories at the meet in- cluded the Sam Houston Stakes on May 17 with Louisiana Seis. He posted 15 second-place finishes and 13 thirds with the barn winning $173,073.
THE MONTH IN REVIEW
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SPEEDHORS, July 2019
Jennifer K. Hancock
TRACK CHATTER