Chicago has always been special; and
what makes it more special is the Arlington
International Racecourse – Arlington Heights, Illinois. Since 1830 horse
racing has been popular in Chicago and was known to have more (6) racing tracks
than any other metropolitan at that time. Arlington Racetracks was the first to
host thoroughbred racing event worth 1 million USD purse back in 1981.
Arlington Park was
established by Harry D. and the first
jockey to lead Luxembourg to victory
was Joe Bollero, who later became a successful
trainer. This track has always been rich in history and has witnessed many fall
and rise to win titles while their names are engraved in the history of horse
racing – Jockeys, Race horses and Trainers.
This article will deal with the top
Jockeys of Arlington Park in the year 2013. To narrow down the list, top 3
jockeys have been mentioned below:
1.
Emmanuel Esquivel
2.
James Graham
3.
Florent Geroux
Emmanuel Esquivel:
As Arlington Park ended its 89 day meet on Sunday, September 29, 2013 –
Apprentice Jockey Emmanuel Esquivel was awarded the leading jockey believed to
be the first “bug-boy” to claim the Arlington riding title since Wendell Eads back in the year 1940.
Emmanuel was tough competition to 2011 top jockey James Graham during the meet
and took away the title with a lead of 83-79 count. The purse money was
established at a higher record of 2,310,086 USD.
His 2013 Stats:
|
Starts
|
551
|
|
1st
|
83
|
|
2nd
|
80
|
|
3rd
|
70
|
James Graham:
Father of three, this man was born a jockey! Originating from Ireland, he was
never a great student until he took a teacher’s advice and joined School for
Jockeys. Once he was done with the course there was no looking back. James
Graham climbed the ladder of success as quickly as he could, staying consistent
till date, friends and peers know him a “determined yet humble competitor”
–followhorseracing.com
2002 he moved to Lexington, Kentucky where he gained the
reputation of a hard worker as an exercise rider while he was working at Keenland Race Course. His first win
came in 2003 July 1 at River Downs,
Ohio and there has been no stopping him from then on!
His 2013 stats:
|
Starts
|
479
|
|
1st
|
79
|
|
2nd
|
87
|
|
3rd
|
64
|
Florent Geroux: A
native of Argentan in France’s Normandy region, Geroux (Frenchy) has been a
regular rider at the Chicago tracks for almost seven seasons! The son of famous
retired jockey Dominique Geroux spent
a successful summer at Arlington Park with two graded stakes victories – Arlington- Washington Futurity and Puker Up. This started off with his
first win of the summer – Grade III
Hanshin Cup.
His 2013 Stats:
|
Starts
|
396
|
|
1st
|
58
|
|
2nd
|
67
|
|
3rd
|
49
|
Arlington Park – The home of such great equine beasts led by
greater jockeys’ remains closed till the anticipated opening on May 2, 2014.
Until then!
