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One Leg Up In Saratoga Springs With Hall of Fame Jockey Ramon Dominguez 7-6-24 · OneLegUpAlex Media

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Here's your host, Alex Garrett, and welcome inside to the Alex Catt podcast
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Network. And with me today is a longtime friend almost twenty plus years now,
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Ramond demingez acclaim jockey, you know, Derby winning and all that fun
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stuff jockey, and you know I didn't realize Ramon. First of all,
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thanks for during my podcast. Glad to be actually leaving now in Saratoga,
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and super great to connect with you. As you said, time flies.
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I mean I remember you coming quite often to Beamont Park, but you'red twenty
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years ago or even longer than that, but yeah, it seems like it
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was yesterday in some ways. Well, you know, you are an accomplished
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jockey and that's why i've you on and I miss talk with you. You've
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always been friendly to us, so thank you for that. And you also
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competed in a few about months over the year as well. I'm not mistaken.
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But now you're analyzing, you're doing all that fun stuff you're you're at
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Saratoga. Give us that experience first of being at Saratoga, the Velmont week,
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I mean, the whole week had be excited. It was something we
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never seen before in racing, right, So true, and with that came
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a lot of anticipation, but a lot of uncertainty too because although it was
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the same place where the meat takes place and there was the same people organizing
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everything at the same time, it was the uniqueness of first time ever having
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the Bevel Mistakes been running Saratoga and I tell you, I feel like and
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actually the feedback got received from neighbors and Jose citizens of Saratoga that everything went
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incredibly well. They did an amazing job in ira organizing the weekend of racing.
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The weather cooperative for the big day because at first there were anticipating but
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they were forecasting a lot of rain, but that was not the case the
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day or the race, so it was a beautiful weather. Everybody made it
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around safe and it was always in Saratoga the seven weeks that we have racing
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here for the regular meet, it is pretty cod A lot of people come
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to the races and it's really beautiful. This time it was that steroids.
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I mean, it was like so many people. It was crazy the amount
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of people, but even Alex leading to the Belmonstakes, there were some festivities
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that they had a Blues Traveler, a famous music group playing here in town,
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but everybody was in Yeah, everybody was into racing and kind of waiting
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for the weekend. Yeah, well you know, rmon, I'm looking here.
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You're not only uh, you know you wanted to breathe if you're an
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Eclipse Award winning champion jockey and Hall of Fame member. So talking to Hall
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of Fame jockey right now, watching that experience, did you did make you
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miss racing a little bit? Watching the whole weekend? Bold? He did
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know, He did know. I feel like I'm so blessed to still be
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connected to racing, even if it is as a fan, and obvisually I'm
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involving other capacities here and there within the sport, and that makes me feel
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like I'm still part of it. And still can't go to the York room
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and see my peers, so see to the trainers and the grooms and so
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on. So I feel like I'm not on top of a horse, but
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I'm still very much still involved. So I initially when I first was forced
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to retire, there was it was difficult really to come to the races and
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watch the racist because I did want to be there riding. But that's not
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the case anymore I was able to turn the page. So that weekend of
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the vemon it was amazing and enjoyed you not only the big race but also
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many of the oder cars that were just incredible to I'll obviously be tagging Nira
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in So I have to ask you, of all three tracks and all the
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different races you ran, what was one of your favorite races to run over
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the years. Yeah, and certainly Saratoga special place because it is the cream
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of the cream when it comes to racing the best horses, the best trainers,
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the jockeys. But also it is so competitive any race that is difficult
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to win. So I was saying Saratoga, the heating in the travers was
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an amazing day for me, but also within they would work with Harvard.
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The grace against the boys was also pretty unique and pretty special. So those
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are two the races. But I can go back to maybe the best or
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the first good horse that I wrote, which was five Better Dog. I
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came for the day and I wrote him in the Sarah Stakes and he won,
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and actually he still holds a record in that race for the fastest man
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at three six three sixteen on the turf. So that was pretty cool to
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win. Early on my career, I stayed racing you you ended with forty
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nine and eighty five wins. That's quite an achievement. Congratulations on that.
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In Venezuela. Did you do much racing down there where you were born or
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did it all start really up here? No, that's certainly when I started
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writing in Venezuela, and I wrote for a few months in a what we
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referred to as a bush track, like an unrecognized racetrack, where I had
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my first rights as an apprentice. I never want a race in that racetrack
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called Eli Paraguana, and then from there moved to the main recognized racetracks,
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which I rode into of them Ladin Cornada, in Balaysia, and combining between
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those two, I won fifty three races in Venezuela. And then I came
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to the United States in nineteen ninety six, still as an apprentice, and
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I wrote for a few months before I became a professional jockey while I was
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still running in Florida. Give us all insight into how trainers pick you guys
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to run their race for them, like how do you connect with them and
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what's the network like buying the scenes. Sure, So for those who are
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listening and don't know much about fourth racing, I mean one of the common
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questions that people ask is, how do you want your own horse? And
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no, we are hired to ride. We're independent contractor. We have an
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agent. And that is the key component here where he has great relationships and
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yes he knows the trainers and so the trainers. Sometimes all the agents or
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the agent will reach out to the trainer and say, I would like for
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my jockey to ride this horse in this race. They already have a schedule
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of the races ahead of time, and so when there is this a friendship
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and common factors in terms of the trainer and the jockey are on the same
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pace as to how they like their horses to be reading. It is an
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easier process, but obviously in the beginning that's not the case. When you
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are proving yourself and you're going out there and writing horses that don't have much
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of a chance, and it's kind of proving that you have the skills to
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do the job. And then after writing lawn chats and horses with no chance
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and maybe improving or maybe getting locky winning a race, you cannot gain the
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cross of the trainers and then getting better amounts becomes something a little more common
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for you, more frequent, and then you start winning. And the name
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here or the key is to win races. When you start winning races,
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whether you look pretty on a horse, or whether your start or your approcess
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the correct one or not, if you win, that's only matters. So
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people will be reaching out to you. But as you can't imagine, when
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a jockey is fortunate enough to have a lot of business, sometimes you will
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have five six trainers wanting you to ride their horse in the same race.
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Obviously you can write only one. And that's when your agent has this toff
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and important job to choose the horse. Some jockeys are more involved in the
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decision making as to a horse they like and what not. I would trust
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in my agency rog and who is incredible. He's the best, and he
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really didn't make many mistakes when it came to choosing the horses. So that's
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typically how it happens. But in the peak of my Korea, I wrote
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as many as over sixteen hundred races in one year, so it is a
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non stop every day. You have a lot of amounts. I saw you
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were on hard degrees and of course that's the name of royalty in Naira and
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racing world. Tell us about riding or Harvard degrees and what that experience was
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like. Yeah, she was incredible. She is an or achiever, I
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mean affilid that started doing well and then continued to excel in. Very easy
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to write and extremely well trained. I wrote her for a report, I
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mean for Larry Johnes was the trainer and he had her super read amber him
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telling me, listen, when you can come to a three a poll,
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don't hesitate to let her wrong. And that's typically too early in the race
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for you to be letting your horse all out. But he was so certain
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that this feely has incredible stamina under her because his training was super He really
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got a lot of conditioning under them. That he gave me a sense sort
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of tours when I got even his ear again the three areas of the mouth
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to let her go, because she just continued going. She was an amazing
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feeling again winning against the boys in a great one the World War here was
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a grade and she showed that she was as good as the boys, and
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in fact she ended up being a horse of the Year and you were jockie.
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How about that? Now? Obviously saying some legendary trainer and jockey pairings
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over the years, the best quads, pledger pairing and whatnot. Now,
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I know you work with top plature as well, but who was the trainer
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the UFL you were most spared with almost every time out. Yeah, it
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was so blessed and fortunate that I would say we because my agent and I
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agree that we do to his hard work as well, and he's amazing friendship
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with the trainers, and he was able to really have these months with these
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trainers were that enabled me to ride for everybody. For everybody, I mean,
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there are jockeys who are very fortunate to write for it top trainers and
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get the support those trainings and the tridal prices when it comes to really riding
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the big races and having day to day business or horses that you know that
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have a top chance to win. On my side, I was able to
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ride from the very little races or races where the horses was small, to
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the big ones horses with a very top chance. So I started writing in
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my big chance I really received from Grand Motion when I was still riding in
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their work part he was certainly doing already very well, and it took him
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awhile to really probably get the acceptance of his owners, so for him to
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be like, listen, I want to write Ramon. And then he started
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riding me on a lot of his cool horses, and that was certainly something
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that put me in the map, so to speak. And then slowly we
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started coming to New York in the winter where the competition was a little bit
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easier, and eventually transitioned to full time in New York. But by then
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we have the support of everybody. And later on in my career a key
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person for my accomplishments and my success was a brick daughter. He had good
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horses, whether claiming horses or stay horses, and he liked me and off
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and trusted me and off or he didn't hesitate to put me on anything and
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everything. So again that led me to jet other level in terms of accrelates,
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in acceptance and being able to connect with a lot of good trainers in
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these big races. Rick Tuto, by the way, is a great friend,
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and you know, when his suspension happened, that was kind of devastating
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because he was such a nice guy, you know, and I'm sure you
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kept up to them throughout all that, but it's goad to see him back
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on the racing circuit. I believe right awesome to see him back. That
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was a crazy suspension that certainly I cannot justify it all. That's another conversation,
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but just super glad to see him back and could do him very well.
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Now, what I really what I really want to talk to you about,
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because you're in Saratoga this this whole summer, is are they going to
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replicate all the summer meats like the every further July weekend they have the Stars
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and Stripes races and all that. Are they doing all that in Saratoga this
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month? They? Y? Are? I mean the the amount of activities
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and I mean I actually a good friend who is the CEO of an organization,
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Gray for Therapeutic Courses of Saratoga, Ken Kim Weir. She sent us
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an email with a lot of the activities that are taking place during the race
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seeing meet here in Saratoga that whether it has directly to do with racing or
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indirectly, I had actually the leasting from me on Thursday is a food race,
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a four miler called the Firecracker that's again leaving to the opening day of
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the meat and on the thirteenth there is the New York City Ballet, which
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is a big thing here in Saratoga too, is a horse racing in ballet.
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Then there is the opening day which is a July eleventh, very much
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looking forward and I can't believe that it's already around the corner. They have
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the Silzien Saton, another food race of fight k on the thirteen. That
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same day that starts the plastic tips on where they have the sales for the
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horses. They have a and an event called boots in Blin Gala and it
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is a local farm where they have a beautiful farm. Our war war for
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uh more Dancer. My wife is listened the stallion in that farm. Yes,
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yes, so this event Alex Blue Butts and Blin Gala is taking place
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at this farm and it is two benefits. One of the after care organization
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called Rerun and I love this organization because they take horses through breda retire and
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when they're fit to do something else outside racing. What else we have We
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have actually an event where there is a gombo that Kendrick Ramush, the jockey
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will be cooking and that is I have here so many events. Oh here
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it is I'm sorry as I say, want to go go for so Yeah,
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like July twenty feet it's an amazing day with a grymaking this gombo which
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is incredible and so and besides that, I mean many other events, but
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one that I want to mention is a July twenty eighth which is the karaoke.
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The jockey is will sing karaoke and it is a lot of fun.
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Most of us stink when it comes to singing, but it's a to benefit
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the permanently. The several jockey is fun and it's really an event that we
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all look forward to. In addition to that, there is the brunch for
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the Race Strike Chaplaincy which is August fourteenth, and that's again we're actually honoring
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this tier Lang Green an amazing support of the backstress community. This is a
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great, great time. And another event that I want to mention, which
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is the through the chaplains here as well, it is a basketball game between
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the jockeys and the trainers. Typically do you remember when it's the basketball game?
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August first? I have it on my calendar. But anyways, that
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is a great time and the jockeys do very well. In last year it
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was the first time that they lost, so this year they're going. I'm
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done about basketball. I know you guys used to do the big softball events
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every every summer in Saratogray. Does that still happen. It's not happening,
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Alex, and I'm not sure why. Yes. And it was state jockeys
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playing against the State Troopers and that was a great, great time. I'm
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going to try to find out why that hasn't taken place in the last I
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don't know, I want to say, four or five years. But it
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was a lot of fun to watch the jockeys play the State Troopers. All
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right, a couple more questions for your own. First of all, you
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and I were cheering on d Way and Lucas. Did you ever get to
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ride for him at all? Or yes? And not often because it was
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whether when he came to Saratoga, perhaps cheap a horse to Long Island,
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I mean to a or Saratoga because typically he will recile he has his horses
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in Kentucky. But I did write for him a few times, and certainly
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what he has accomplished and still continue to accomplish is amazing about him winning the
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Freakness, I mean, is amazing what he's doing. You know, you
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mentioned different events going on. People don't realize jockeys are very much in the
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community, right, So talk about that for a second. The community outreach
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you guys do, whether it's a toga, Delmont or or aqueduct. Yes,
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and it's a great question, Alex and Wanda. People sometimes especially during
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the minting Saratoga, don't realize how the mending it is for the joke and
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only physically riding that many horses, and also mentally because it is so competitive
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here that you just want to win a race because win sometimes maybe difference between
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position and the standings. But in addition to that, the Yogis are extremely
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good with their time, trying to attend any event that they can to.
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When it comes to supporting the sport, whether it is after there, the
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primient is able. Joke is so many other organizations that are here to support
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the industry. But the reality is a some times we do not want to
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go out after the races because we're hired. We need to get up early
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to brisk Horse in the morning. Despite that, we do the airport and
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we have a great time, and we know that we are helping supporting the
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sport. But it is a very amending because pretty much every night there is
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an event to attend and that the jock is the invitation is extended to them.
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So when you got to call it the Hall of Fame, what was
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that like? Oh? So, first I received a call by a friend
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telling me that I was They changed the rules to accommodate for me, because
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under the regulations or the rules at the moment, I did have enough time
19:15
after being retired to qualify to being nominated to the All of Fame. But
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they made some amendments so that given the fact that I was forced to retire,
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it was another my own terms, given my accent, that I could
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be eligible to be nominated to the Hall of Fame. That was something exciting
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and I was like, wow, that's so cool that they are doing this.
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And then they mean they told me that I was nominated. I felt
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like I was already accomplishing something huge. But quite honestly, I mean among
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my peers that I wore also nominated that year it was Lectoris. I want
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they can together every three times I'm saying one day the triple Crown among many
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other races and as well, he will certainly be exalted into the Hall of
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Fame, going doctor before me. Then I received a call by Brian Bujet,
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the director of raising the Hall of Fame and Colorramana will call you to
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conor ya from being inducted into the Hall of Fame. And I just started
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crying like crazy. And my wife, who was nearby and then know what
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was happening, say what happened and she felt maybe something that happened, and
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I told her that I was inducted into a Hall of Fame, and uh
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wow. It was extremely emotional day for me. Stilles emotional when I think
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about it, but the day that I will never forget was amazing. Now
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that is so special. And Ramon, I've always valued our friendship over the
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years. Of the many signatures, I mean I remember the mad Dads with
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the Belma my dad and I would be uh sorry, so you know the
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mad Desh you get all you guys signed it before the race every year.
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It was something special. By the way, you can check out the Racing
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Museum at one ninety one Union and Avenue, Seratoga Springs, so that's a
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great spot to visit before and after the race is right, Alex, I
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tell you it is so incredible. Honestly, I feel like it's a hitting
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game at the National Museum or Racing Hall of Fame. And the fact that
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if somebody makes a trip to the racetrack during the racing season, it would
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be amazing. Not only the almosphere is a very family oriented with picnic tables,
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you can see the horses from close proximity in the paddle and also get
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a signature from the jockeys as they come back from the jockeys from the track
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going back into the jock room. But across the street from the racetrack is
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the Museum of Hall of Fame and they have now a film, a three
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sixty film called What it Takes to Make It into the Hall of Fame.
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Oh my gosh, is amazing, beautiful, all the exhibits is a place
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absolutely if somebody comes to the racetrack or it's passing passing through Saratoga, it
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is a most stop by the National Museum or Racing Hall of Fame. You
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guys always in the mentors, right, who is your mentor coming up in
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the racing world. Well, I do not have one mentor. I have
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many. In fact, if you ask me among jockeys, I probably can
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tell you something that I learned from every single one of them, whether it
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was an advice that they gave me, or whether it was something that I
22:34
noticed that they were doing well or doing in my opinion, correctly. But
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I had a multiple, multiple people who really helped me my process would becoming
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a joke and it's something that never stopped. I mean even today, I
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sometimes ask some of the jockeys who when I watch them righte, how do
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they do something? Because it is a professional where you never ever stopped learning.
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And if there are young jockeys that wants, you know, a leg
23:04
up, if you will on this field and want to come to you,
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how can they reach you? They can reach out to me. Most of
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them have my phone number, and if you know, they can ask any
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of the other jokeys. And it's something that I know only like to do.
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I love to really help and sometimes offer advice whenever some of them will
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ask me call me because maybe they're having a difficulty or maybe they want to
23:27
improve in certain area. And I don't have all the answers, but I
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have a different perspective, especially when it comes to getting horses to relax,
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which I think is something that I was able to do fairly well, and
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so sometimes if it is riding on the turf, which again one of the
23:48
key important factors is getting horses to relax. So whatever the case may be
23:55
that they may want to maybe bounce some ideas or ask for any questions,
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I absolutely my phoney is always open for that and I'm always willing to have
24:06
a conversation with them. So again, the best way for them is to
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ask one of the jokeys that I wrote with about my phone number, and
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I'm always happy to help. Well before we before the travers, I'd love
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to get you back on for your thoughts on that, and then maybe the
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breeders later in the year. Absolutely you can reach out. I love speaking
24:26
with you and especially when we're talking about racing, So definitely we can reconnect
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and the travers this year is August twenty fourth, so we have plenty of
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time to prepare. Appreciate you Ramon and appreciate all our friendship over the years,
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and love having you back on the Alex Pair podcast Network. Thank you,
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Alice for the great world you're doing and anytime I'm looking forward to being
24:49
on the podcast as well.