Laffit Pincay Breaks the Record!
 Prior to the race
Click photos to see larger version |
Today Laffit Pincay, Jr. became the first jockey to hit the 9,000 mark in career wins in the California Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Chichim for trainer Juan Garcia. Congratulations Laffit on 9,000 and counting! You can watch the stretch run from Santa Anita here.
Today (12/10/99) Laffit Pincay, Jr. surpassed Bill Shoemaker's tally for most career wins with a new record total of 8,834 with his win on Irish Nip for trainer Richard Mandella in the 6th race at Hollywood Park to become the world's winningest rider. It was nice to see him get this historic win on a horse trained by Mandella, one of the trainers who stuck by him through the years. There was a very jubilant winner's circle celebration where he and his son were carried around by his fellow jockeys and sprayed with champagne. Previous record holder Bill Shoemaker and Pincay's entire family were also on hand for the festivities. As a special treat, Hollywood Park showed a video of many of his fellow jockeys, both active and retired, from across the country offering their congratulations. In addition to a trophy and special bottle of champagne, the California racetracks presented him with a new white Porsche convertible. (video of the historic win)
This victory marks yet another important milestone in his long and stellar career. At age 52, he still has no immediate plans to retire and has his sights on breaking the 9,000 mark. "I just love riding horses, and that's all I want to do for as long as I can," Pincay said. "If I don't ride stakes horses, I'll ride whatever's available."
Pincay's parents divorced when he was a child and his father, also a jockey, moved to Venezuela to race. Laffit began working at the track as a hot-walker and groom at age 15 for no pay to get his foot in the door. In his spare time he learned to ride and got his jockey license when he was 17. He rode his first winner at Panama's Presidente Remon Racetrack on May 16, 1964, on his second career mount. He quickly went on to become Panama's leading jockey.
In 1966, Fred Hooper sponsored him to come to the United States and ride under contract. He started out at Arlington Park in Chicago and won 8 of his first 11 races! He did so well he was elected to the Hall of Fame only 9 years later.
Part II - Amazing Discipline (another photo and stats)
Part III - Laffit Links (yet another photo and more stats)
 The car presented to him by the Southern California tracks |
 License plate on his new Porsche |
| Shoemaker vs. Pincay Lifetime Stats Comparison | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jockey Name | Mounts | Win | Place | Show | Win% | ITM% | Seasons |
| Bill Shoemaker | 40,350 | 8,833 | 6,136 | 4,987 | 22% | 49% | 42 |
| Laffit Pincay | 44,647 | 8,834 | 7,197 | 6,152 | 20% | 50% | 35 |
Have a comment or question about this topic? Jump on over to the bulletin board!
