Eibar Coa

Horseracing personalities infobox


name = Eibar Coa
|caption =
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Monagas, Venezuela
birth date = February 15, 1971
death date =
career wins = Not found
race = Brooklyn Handicap (1998)
Princess Rooney Handicap (1998)
Rebel Stakes (1998)
Cornhusker Breeders' Cup Handicap (2000)
Lone Star Derby (2000)
Monmouth Breeders' Cup Oaks (2001)
Calder Derby (2002, 2004)
Meadowlands Cup (2002, 2005)
Tampa Bay Derby (2003)
Sunshine Millions Classic (2003)
Illinois Derby (2004)
Kelso Breeders' Cup Handicap (2004)
Sunshine Millions Distaff (2004)
Toboggan Handicap (2004)
Canadian Turf Handicap (2005)
Pimlico Special (2005)
Queens County Handicap (2005)
Sword Dancer Invitational Handicap (2006)
Belmont Futurity Stakes (2007)
Gazelle Stakes (2007)
Prioress Stakes (2007)
Remsen Stakes (2007)
Test Stakes (2007)
Donn Handicap (2008)
Matron Stakes (2008)
awards =
honours = Calder Race Course Hall of Fame (2004)
horses = Victory Gallop, Sir Bear
Lear's Princess, Dream Rush
updated = CURRENTTIME, CURRENTDAYNAME CURRENTMONTHNAME CURRENTDAY CURRENTYEAR (UTC)

Eibar M. Coa (born February 15,1971 in Monagas, Venezuela) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. A five-time judo champion in his teens, he attended jockey school from 1989 to 1991 then began his professional riding career in 1992. He emigrated to the United States in 1993 but went back home the following year to serve a riding suspension served by Florida track officials.

In 1996, Eibar Coa returned to the U.S. to compete at racetracks in Florida where he became the leading jockey at Calder Race Course in 1996, 1997, 1999, and again in 2000. In addition, he was the leading jockey at Calder Race Course's Tropical Park meet in 1998 and 1999. On September 7, 1998, he tied a then Calder Race Course record when he rode six winners on a single race card. His success at that track led to his 2004 induction in the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame.

Eibar Coa was the leading jockey at New Jersey's Monmouth Park in 2002 and at Florida's Gulfstream Park the following year. He also has competed successfully on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit, winning riding championships at Aqueduct Racetrack in 2006 and tying for that year's fall jockey title at Belmont Park. On December 29, 2006, he joined Hall of Fame inductees Angel Cordero Jr., Steve Cauthen, and Mike E. Smith as the only jockeys in the history of NYRA to win 300 races in one year. He was voted 2006 Jockey of the Year by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.

In 2007, Eibar Coa was ranked seventh among all jockeys in the United States with total earnings of $14,237,059, and was leading jockey at the Belmont fall meet.

In his personal life, Eibar Coa has a son named Keibar and a daughter named Sienna.

References

* [http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=12808 Eibar Coa at the NTRA]
* [http://horseracing.about.com/od/jockeys/p/aaeibarcoa.htm About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company, article on Eibar Coa winning his 300th race on the NYRA circuit]