Page 44 - October 2015

The work ethic and grateful outlook that Eddie taught his children has carried him to the
Blane Schvaneveldt shakes Eddie’s hand after he won the 2008
Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity aboard Tres Passes. Eddie says Eddie Garcia with Terry Meyocks & John Beech of the Jockeys’ Guild this was one of his greatest moments in racing.
Eddie won his first stakes race in the 1986 Los Alamitos Championship aboard Easy Conversation
for trainer Blane Schvaneveldt
Eddie’s skill and success led to jockey spots with Blane Schvaneveldt and Bob Baffert, for whom he rode for three years. “I started riding Corona Cartel — I rode a lot for Blane and he was like my second father,” Eddie says. “He was one of the great- est men in the world to me and he taught me right. I had talent, but I didn’t know how to control it. He made me real honest and taught me confidence in myself.
“Tres Passes was a special horse for me,” Eddie adds. “Blane had always wanted to win the Los Al Two Million and winning that for him on Tres Passes [in 2008] was one of the greatest moments in racing for me.”
After Blane died in 2010, his daughter Brenda Schvaneveldt Figueroa took over the operation. “Eddie still rides for me,” she says. “He knows a lot about horses and how they feel and what you should do with them. He’s also business-smart. If I’m trying to sell a horse, he has a lot of friends and connections to help me.
“He’s been very loyal to me and he always keeps his word,” Brenda added. “He’s worked really hard to get where he is. He’s been a really great friend to me and to the family and I’m proud he’s getting the [Sam Thompson] Award.”
Blazing a Trail
The support from his peers speaks volumes about their affection for him and their pride in what he’s done for himself and for others who’ve followed in his foot- steps. “Eddie’s one of the first Hispanic guys that was leading rider at Los Alamitos,” says G.R. “For about 10 years, he was The King. It amazes me how many of those guys riding there today look up to him and more or less followed the same path he’d blazed for them. He had a widespread influence on a lot of the Hispanic guys from Mexico and other places.”
Eddie was at the top of his game in the 1990s, guiding mounts such as Brotherly, Holland Ease, Four Forty Blast, Sign Of Lanty, Separatist and Sassy Smith to the winner’s circle. One trip that stands out in his memory speaks volumes about his character and his desire to give back to the industry that gave him all he has. “I’d qualified two horses for the PCQHRA Breeders’ Futurity in 2001,” he says. “A week later, Oscar Andrade went down and was paralyzed. I decided to ride the filly Sassy Smith for him. Whatever I made, I wanted
to donate to Oscar. I ended up winning the futurity and that was a special moment, wanting to help somebody and being able to get the job done. That’s something nobody can take away from you.”
A Jockeys’ Guild supporter his entire career, Eddie adds, “The longer you ride, the more you learn what help you need from other people; you need other people and they need you. And the jockeys work really hard to make and donate money for disabled riders.”
Eddie returns aboard A Classic Dash after winning the 1993 All American Futurity
42 SPEEDHORSE, October 2015
Linda Earley Photography