Page 142 - April2022

THE BACKSIDE
HOME BASE: Giddings, Texas
YEARS EXPERIENCE: About a month.
HOBBIES: “I like to do a lot of things: go for runs, go shopping with my family. I like to be outside around horses.”
by John Moorehouse
How did you spend your time when you were 16 years old?
Going to school? Playing sports? Hanging out with friends? Working a part-time job? David Alvarez, Jr., has found himself a decidedly atypical part-time job—one he hopes to make his full-time vocation.
Alvarez, who is just 16 years old, made his debut as a professional jockey on March 6 at Louisiana Downs.
“I got my exercise rider license six months before I got my jockey license,” Alvarez said. “Actually, I wasn’t going to get my license until next year. I felt like I probably needed more time. After working out the horses in the morning and people telling me I looked good, and my dad helping me out too, everyone told me I was ready.”
Alvarez got his license on March 5 and made his first start the next day, in a trial for the Mardi Gras Futurity at Louisiana Downs. On March 20, Alvarez scored his
first career win, steering DDeez Kiss My Dash to victory in a 250-yard maiden at Louisiana Downs.
If Alvarez’s name sounds familiar, it should. His father, David Alvarez, ranked second in the nation in wins and seventh in earnings last year. He holds more than 1,500 wins and nearly $21 million in earnings.
“I saw him win all these big races and saw all my family’s faces. That made me want
to do it,” Alvarez, Jr., said. “That’s what motivated me the most. Seeing him win, and I wanted to win, too.”
Making the decision to get into the sport at the age of 16 isn’t easy. Alvarez is also still going to high school, where he is a junior, although he plans to transition to online school for his final year of high school.
While David, Jr., is getting his education in the classroom and on the track, let’s learn more about the newest jockey in the Alvarez family in this installment of our Backside feature.
DAVID ALVAREZ, JR.
140 SPEEDHORSE April 2022
David’s first career win aboard Ddeez Kiss My Dash at Louisiana Downs.
Hodges Photography
Hodges Photography