Page 30 - February 2021

Everardo riding Blood Money to victory in the Laddie Futurity at Delta Downs.
THE BACKSIDE
EVERARDO RODRIGUEZ
“I try not to set any goals. That way I just go as it comes. Just as long as God has me in His hands, everything is good. I’m happy.”
28 SPEEDHORSE February 2022
HOME BASE: Dallas, Texas
YEARS EXPERIENCE: “I debuted at the
Delta Downs meet in 2013”
ACCOMPLISH AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
Finalist for the AQHA Racing Champion jockey award. Led the nation in Quarter
Horse wins in 2019 and 2021. Finished third nationally in earnings in 2021, with a personal- best $3.41 million in prize money.
HOBBIES: “Riding horses. I don’t really have the time for much more.”
Everardo Rodriguez came to the United States looking for an opportunity in the horse racing world. Rodriguez now has entered the conversation as being among the top Quarter Horse jockeys in the country.
A native of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Rodriguez racked up 147 victories, easily the most in the nation. David Alvarez was
the only other Quarter Horse rider to reach triple digits in wins, and he finished 27 shy of Rodriguez.
This isn’t the first time Rodriguez finished at or near the top of the country in victories. He also paced the country in wins in 2019, finishing third in 2018 and fifth in 2020.
“It’s a blessing more than anything,” Rodriguez said of his success. “With me, it’s really not about the money. This is what I like to do, ride horses and race horses.”
Rodriguez’s win total included 11 stakes races—eight of them graded—in 2021,
most notably the LQHBA Louisiana Million Futurity-G1 and the Lee Berwick Memorial Futurity-G1, which comprise the two biggest purses on the Quarter Horse circuit in Louisiana. Both those wins came aboard Blood Money, who became only the second two-year-old bred in Louisiana to surpass $1 million in a single year. Sadly, Blood Money died on Jan. 17 from complications during colic surgery.
Coady Photography Hodges Photography