Santiago Gonzalez Jockey
The name is Santiago Gonzalez and he is making some inroads into the Southern California jockey colony quickly, quietly, but eye catching. Through last week, Gonzalez ranked 59 th in the country with 51 wins from 372 mounts. He won with 11 of his first 63 at Del Mar to be in the top 5 in a very good jockey colony. Four jockeys, including leading rider Santiago Gonzalez, were given three-day suspensions for riding infractions at Santa Anita last week.
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ARCADIA, Calif. -- Jockey Santiago Gonzalez fractured his jaw in an accident in the fifth race at Santa Anita on Sunday and will miss approximately six weeks, his agent, Craig Stephen, said Monday.
Stephen said the jaw was not displaced, and therefore Gonzalez will not need to have the jaw wired shut.
'His face is pretty beat up,' Stephen said. 'He has stitches all over his face.'
Santiago Gonzalez Jockey Santa Anita
Stephen said the most significant cut, on Gonzalez's chin near the fracture, was 'half-moon shaped,' and he theorized that Gonzalez may have been clipped by a trailing horse.
'That one's a good five inches long,' Stephen said. 'That explains the broken jaw.'
Stephen also said Gonzalez's right leg was bothering him, though nothing was broken. 'He has trouble standing on it now,' Stephen said.
Gonzalez is the second-leading rider at the meet behind Rafael Bejarano.
The incident occurred with three furlongs to go in the six-furlong race when Gonzalez's mount, Follini -- who had been difficult to control to that point in the race -- appeared to clip the heels of another horse, dislodging Gonzalez.
He was taken by ambulance to Huntington Memorial Hospital in nearby Pasadena.
Santiago Gonzalez Jockey
Follini was not hurt in the incident. He continued on after losing Gonzalez and was caught by an outrider.
Follini is trained by Mark Glatt. Last September at Los Alamitos, Gonzalez and Flavien Prat -- both riding horses trained by Glatt -- were injured in an accident caused when Prat's mount, Discreetlyhumorme, stumbled on his own accord and fell. Prat fractured several vertebrae and missed several months. Gonzalez was badly bruised but only missed a few days of action.
By Alberto Garcia
Opening Day at the Del Mar racing season on Wednesday saw several Latino jockeys ride into the Winner’s Circle, continuing a growing trend of riders from Latin countries dominating the sport of kings.
On Wednesday, the jockey with the most wins on the day was Rafael Bejarano, a 35-year old rider from Peru, taking the win in four races. Bejarano has over 3,000 wins under his belt, having won a record seven races in a single day in 2004.
But Bejarano was not the only Latino to win on Del Mar’s opening day. Mexican-born Israel Ocampo rode Geologist to win the second race, and T.J. Pereira from Brazil won aboard Bowies Hero in the eighth race of the day.
Other Latino jockeys riding Wednesday included Daniel P. Vergara, Mario Gutierrez, Norberto Arroyo, Jr., Victor Espinoza, Santiago Gonzalez, and Agapito Delgadillo.
Nationally, Latino jockeys have won major horse races and have become some of the highest earners in the sport. So far, five Latino jockeys have been inducted into the National Museum of Racing.
In 2010, seven of the top 10 jockeys based on earnings were Latinos, including Rafael Bejarano, who that year earned over $14 millions in race purses.
Although jockeys work for the owners of the horses, the rider usually earns about 10 percent of the winnings, which can amount to millions of dollar per year.
For example, John R. Velázquez, a Puerto Rican-born jockey, has become the highest earning jockey of all time, and has inducted into the racing Hall of Fame in 2012.
Velazquez has won thirteen Breeders’ Cup and four Triple Crown races including winning the Kentucky Derby in 2007 and again in 2011.
Santiago Gonzalez Jockey
In 2011, Velázquez earned more than $4 million for himself, and Mexico City’s Víctor Espinoza made over $2.8 million.
Dominican jockey Joel Rosario has also become a major player in horse racing. In 2011, Rosario earned more than $5.5 million a year. He became a professional jockey at 14 years old, and earned his first win in July 2000. In 2006, he moved to the United States, and just four years later, rode Make Music For Me to a fourth place finish at the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
One of the highest profile Latino jockeys in the past few years is Mexican Victor Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown in 2015. His wins at the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes made him the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. In that year, Cuban-born Laz Barrera won the Triple Crown aboard Affirmed.
Latinos already dominate the horse racing world and, with more entering the system each year, the future of the sport seems squarely in the hands of Spanish speakers.
Santiago Gonzalez Jockey Bio
“If horses could talk, they would surely speak Spanish,” said Bob Baffert, the trainer of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.