Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez, who retired
in June due to the severity of injuries sustained in a spill at Aqueduct in
January, made a special appearance at Laurel Park Saturday afternoon.
Dominguez, a regular rider at Laurel and Pimlico for five years earlier in his career, was saluted with a winner’s circle
presentation after the 2ND race. The Maryland Jockey Club made a donation to
the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) in his name and Dominguez then conducted
an autograph session in the clubhouse.
“I am spending a whole lot of time with my family, giving
time to my family that didn’t happen often before for schedule reasons,”
Dominguez said. “It is something I am enjoying. Yesterday was my first day
jogging and I went for a short run. It was exciting, not only to do something
physically but mentally it was enjoyable.”
The Venezuela native arrived in Maryland in 2000 and won
1,012 races at the major Maryland tracks over the next five years, including 297
victories in 2001. He earned his first Grade 1 score when he guided A Huevo to
victory in the 2003 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash. The 2013 De Francis Dash
headlined Saturday’s 11-race card.
“It was a very exciting day for me,” Dominguez remarked. “I would
say it was the highlight of my career at Laurel. It was my first Grade 1 and
that alone made it special. I came into the day with high hopes and when it was
all said and done it was one of those things I’ll never forget.
“I enjoyed riding in Maryland. Of course winning with
Invasor in the Pimlico Special, and the Maryland Million were very special to
me,” added Dominguez, who won 16 graded races in the state during his
career. “There were so many memories. I made great friends through the years.
Maryland was home for me and it was an excellent experience racing here.”
Dominguez, who has two young sons with his wife, Sharon,
retired with 4,985 career victories and earnings of $191.6 million. Last year,
he earned his third consecutive Eclipse Award as the nation’s best rider when he
surpassed Jerry Bailey for the single-season record in North America with $25.6
million in earnings. The 36-year-old is now devoting his time in assisting the PDJF, a 501 (c) (3) public charity that provides financial assistance to former
jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries.
“There are currently close to 60 jockeys receiving funds
from the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund,” Dominguez said. “I like to be able
to help them in any way I can. Raising awareness is one way. As an industry, I
think we all have a level of responsibility to those who make the ultimate
sacrifice. It’s something I am very passionate about.”
Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas announced Saturday that Dominguez
would be the recipient of Pimlico Race Course’s 2014
Special Award of Merit. The award, presented at the Alibi Breakfast two days
before the running of the Preakness Stakes, is given to those who have made
a positive impact on the racing industry. Previous winners include Jim McKay,
Joe Hirsch and D. Wayne Lukas.
“Ever since I started people would ask who my role model
was and I really didn’t have one specific person. I had tons of people give me
advice to help show me the way, but when Ramon announced his retirement, I
realized how much a role model he has been during my career,” said jockey Rosie
Napravnik, who competed against Dominguez in Maryland, Delaware and New York.
“He has amazing riding ability and is a tremendous person.”
Racing analyst Gabby Gaudet produced a special salute to
Dominguez on the Maryland Jockey Club’s YouTube
page.
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