Jacinto Vásquez

Horseracing personalities infobox


name = Jacinto Vásquez
|caption =
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Panama
birth date = 1944
death date =
career wins = 5,231
race = Acorn Stakes (1967, 1975)
Amory L. Haskell Handicap (1967)
Mother Goose Stakes (1967, 1975)
New York Breeders' Cup Handicap (1968)
Sanford Stakes (1970, 1981)
Stymie Handicap (1970, 1978)
Travers Stakes (1970, 1979)
Excelsior Handicap (1971, 1985)
Hopeful Stakes (1971)
Withers Stakes (1971, 1985)
Hempstead Handicap (1972, 1978)
Saratoga Special Stakes (1972, 1976)
Test Stakes (1972, 1974, 1975)
Long Island Handicap (1973, 1988)
Wood Memorial (1973, 1975)
Whitney Handicap (1973)
Champagne Stakes (1974, 1989)
Cowdin Stakes (1974, 1987, 1989)
Demoiselle Stakes (1974)
Frizette Stakes (1973)
Coaching Club American Oaks (1975, 1976, 1982)
Comely Stakes (1975, 1986, 1990)
Fall Highweight Handicap (1975, 1977)
Gazelle Handicap (1975)
Toboggan Handicap (1975)
Vagrancy Handicap (1975)
Gotham Stakes (1976, 1979, 1986)
Queens County Handicap (1976)
Jerome Handicap (1978)
United Nations Handicap (1979, 1987)
Man O' War Stakes (1980)
Schuylerville Stakes (1981)
Pennsylvania Derby (1982)
Red Smith Handicap (1982)
Brooklyn Handicap (1983, 1989, 1990)
Diana Handicap (1983)
Kentucky Oaks (1983)
Lexington Stakes (1983, 1988)
Damon Runyon Stakes (1986, 1988, 1989)
Blue Grass Stakes (1988, 1992)
Spinster Stakes (1988)

American Classics / Breeders' Cup wins:
Kentucky Derby (1975, 1980)
Breeders' Cup Sprint (1986)
awards=
honours = United States Racing Hall of Fame (1998)
Calder Hall of Fame (1999)
horses = Ruffian, Foolish Pleasure, Genuine Risk, Forego, Princess Rooney, Manila, Risen Star
updated = May 23, 2007

Jacinto Vásquez (born 1944, Panama) is a retired Hall of Fame thoroughbred jockey. He rode two Kentucky Derby winners, Foolish Pleasure in 1975 and Genuine Risk in 1980, but may be best known as the regular jockey for the great filly Ruffian.

Biography

Jacinto Vasquez began working at the Presidente Remon Racetrack in Panama at age 15, and became a leading apprentice rider there before moving to the United States in 1960. He was based in New York for much of his career, and also frequently rode at Calder Race Course in Florida.

In 1973, Vasquez became the only jockey to defeat Secretariat twice: in the Wood Memorial with Angle Light, and in the Whitney Handicap aboard Onion.

In 1975, Vasquez was the regular jockey for both Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure and Triple Tiara winner Ruffian. When the July 6, 1975 match race between the two horses was arranged, Vasquez chose to ride Ruffian, leaving Foolish Pleasure for Braulio Baeza.

Beginning in February 1984, Jacinto Vasquez served a one-year suspension for attempting to bribe another jockey, a charge going back to 1975 which he vehemently denied and had fought through racing authority hearings and through the courts for nearly ten years. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30810FA3C5D0C758EDDAB0894DC484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fH%2fHorse%20Racing]

Vasquez was the leading jockey at Calder five times, in the seasons ending in 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981, and 1991. Over his 37-year career, he raced 37,392 times, winning 14% of his races. When he retired in 1996, he was 15th on the all-time wins list for jockeys. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Calder Hall of Fame in 1999.

Since retiring as a jockey, Jacinto Vasquez has remained in racing and is now training horses in Ocala, Florida.

References

* [http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/jockey.asp?ID=231 National Racing Hall of Fame biography]
* [http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/jockey.asp?ID=231 Calder Race Course biography]
* [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1993/5/1993_5_46.shtml Gene Smith, "Ruffian",] American Heritage, September 1993
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06EEDF173AF935A15751C0A962958260 "Surgery for Vasquez", New York Times, Feb. 26, 1994 (source for birthdate)]