Page 45 - Speedhorse October 2018

LIFE AS A JOCK
Since that first big win, Ricky has tallied career stats of 1,136 wins out of 6,575 starts (17%) with career earnings of $29,963,779. He finished 2017 third in both wins and earnings standings, with 113 wins out of 481 starts (23.5%) and more than $2.5 million in earnings. For 2018, as of Sept. 12, he’d won 61 of 343 starts (18%), with 55 seconds, 35 thirds and earnings of $2,002,278.
Ricky is one of just three jockeys (with G.R. Carter Jr. and Cody Jensen) who have earned the Quarter Horse jockey trifecta: an AQHA World Champion Jockey title (2015), the Jacky Martin Award from the Jockeys’ Guild (2017), and the Sam Thompson Award.
“We’ve got to remember that the Sam Thompson Award is not an on-track award,” says Cody, who was a close friend of Sam’s. “The World Championship and the Jacky Martin are for accomplishments on the track, but the Sam Thompson is more about how you conduct yourself off the track.
“Sam was a huge advocate for everybody in the jocks’ room,” Cody continues. “He worked tirelessly to make sure everybody got the best treatment by management, by trainers, by everybody in the room. He was a stand-up guy and you could bet on his word. He was just the best, and he made you want to be more like him — to be a better person — and there are very few riders who can match someone like that.
“Ricky’s always been a stand-up guy, as well,” he adds. “He treats everybody fairly and he works for what he’s got. He’s greatly appreciated inside the jocks’ room.”
“Winning the Sam Thompson Award was an awesome feeling,” Ricky says. “It’s a dream come true to be recognized.”
Despite heavy rain, previous Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey winners G.R. Carter Jr. and Cody Jensen, the local jockey colony, Speedhorse owners John and Susan Bachelor, artist Linda Manion, Donna & Mindy McArthur, Jockeys’ Guild National Manager Terry Meyocks, Jockeys’ Guild Regional Manager John Beech and Jockeys’ Guild in-house counsel Mindy Coleman honored Ricky Ramirez at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 2.
Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award