Wilnell Mercado has worked as an exercise rider for more
than two years for Calder Hall of Fame trainer Bill White, and the time has now
come for Mercado to ride in his first career race as an apprentice for White in
the 5TH race Saturday at Calder.
“It’s something that I have always liked since I was
young,” Mercado said. “I decided to start riding in races now because I think
that I have all of the qualities and the abilities to be able to achieve it.”
Mercado, 24, will be aboard Times Are Tough, a four-year-old
gelding who is owned by White Fox Farm, in a 5 1/2-furlong claiming race. Times
Are Tough is cutting back in distance and returning with a tag after finishing
seventh in a six-furlong optional claiming race and sixth in a seven-furlong allowance
race. The Broken Vow chestnut has two career wins to his name, including a
six-furlong maiden claiming race win last September and a 6 1/2-furlong claiming
race win last December.
“Wilo’s actually had his certificate to ride for almost a
year, so I’ve been encouraging him to get started,” White remarked. “He’s been with
me for a couple years now, hasn’t missed a day, has been a key person in my
barn, and we’re all really excited to see him ride his first race.”
Times Are Tough is one of the horses that Mercado takes out
every morning for White. Mercado said that taking many horses to the gate and
working the horses in the mornings consistently has allowed him to learn what he
needs to know to be ready to ride in the races.
This first-hand knowledge and
daily work are a plus for White, who has high hopes for Mercado as he has been
able to watch his development.
“What I like about Wilo is he is the type of rider who can
handle tough horses, number one,” White explained. “He is very good about
communicating to me what he’s feeling with a horse — giving me an idea if a
horse needs more training, less training, if a horse is improving, or maybe we
need to back off of the horse. I count on Wilo a whole lot to communicate with
me. I’m hoping that as a rider he will do the same with the trainers.”
Prior to working for White, the native of Aibonito, Puerto
Rico, did attend one year of jockey school in Puerto Rico where he learned the
basics of being an apprentice jockey. That, along with working White’s barn in
combination with advice from fellow jockeys and support from his family, has
allowed Mercado to fully develop into being ready to make his apprentice debut.
His support system, including wife, Emily, and daughters, Amelianys and
Neilymar, are sure to be in the stands on Saturday to support Mercado in his
debut.
“I think that is very important,” Mercado said. “They have always given me a
hand and they have supported me.”
As for Mercado’s plans for his apprenticeship, he is taking
everything one step at a time.
“My focus for the moment is to make my debut and try to do a good job, learn,
and then make the decisions that are best for me,” he added
Times Are Tough and Mercado are slated to break from post
position five for the 5TH race on Saturday, which has an approximate post time
of 3 p.m. (EDT).
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