Ramon A. Dominguez has been named the winner of the 63rd annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.
Dominguez, a 35-year-old Thoroughbred Horse racing jockey, has won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey for the past two years (2010 and 2011). The Venezuelan-born rider, who started his equestrian career in show jumping before pursuing racing, topped American jockey listings for wins both years.
Now a New York native, Dominguez has ridden such prestigious racehorses as Bluegrass Cat, Gio Ponti, Havre de Grace, and Invasor. In 2012, Dominguez has raced Kentucky Derby hot prospect Hansen, having piloted the colt to win the 2011 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Louisville's Churchill Downs. The Tapit son was named 2011 Champion Two-Year-Old Male.
The top jockey’s current mount earnings exceed $3.375 million.
This year’s Woolf Award finalists included Corey Lanerie, Martin Pedroza, DeShawn Parker and Scott Stevens.
What is the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award?
The Woolf Award honors Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys for outstanding professional careers and personal character. Based on a nationwide jockey vote, the award honors George Woolf, a famous racing jockey known for riding Seabiscuit in 1938 and popularly tagged “The Iceman.” Woolf died after a fall in a 1946 Thoroughbred horse race at the famous Santa Anita Racetrack in California.
The Woolf Award trophy is a replica of a life-sized statue of George Woolf, which stands in the Paddock Gardens area of the Santa Anita.
Woolf Award winners in recent years have included:
- Garrett Gomez – 2011
- Calvin Borel – 2010
- John Velazquez – 2009
- Richard Migliore – 2008
- Jon Court – 2007
- Mark Guidry – 2006
- Ray Sibille – 2005
- Robby Albarado – 2004
- Edgar Prado – 2003
- Russell Baze – 2002
- Dean Kutz – 2001
- Mike Smith - 2000
The first Woolf Award was presented in 1950 to jockey Gordon Glisson, with Bill Shoemaker winning the following year.
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