Is Saratoga's jockey colony one of the all-time greats?

[PaceAdvantage]

https://www.horseracingnation.com/ne...ime_greats_123

Veteran agent Michael Migliore, who represents Davis, leans heavily toward New York in the 1980s in his search for the best set of riders of all time.

“You know what that colony would have did to these guys? Forget about it, man. They would have lit them up. That’s just my opinion,” said Migliore, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native.

That opinion is largely based on the tremendous respect he has for Angel Cordero Jr. “To me, Angel Cordero was the greatest rider ever,” Migliore said. “You ride against Angel Cordero, you better be on your ‘A’ game every race. He had more tricks than Houdini.”

He also lavished praise on Irad Ortiz. “Every race he’s got fire in him, man. It’s incredible to watch. It’s fun to watch,” Migliore said. “Sometimes he goes over the line, but that’s just his competitiveness to win.”

Migliore will always treasure his memories of the '80s. “Compare the two colonies from now to back then? There’s no comparison, man,” he said.

[Andy Asaro]

Obviously a 10 out of 10 as far as Jockey Colonies go. In Ca they went from a 7 or 8 last year to a 6 this year. Nobody close to Saratoga colony

[PalaceOfFortLarned]

It is pretty damn phenomenal.

Javy and Johnny V are already in the HOF.

Irad Ortiz, Jose Ortiz, Luis Saez, Joel Rosario, Flavien Prat are almost certain locks to join those two.

Tyler Gaffalione, Dylan Davis, Ricardo Santana, Manny Franco, Junior Alvarado, Florent Geroux, Jose Lezcano, Kendrick Carmouche, Trevor McCarthy, Julien Leparoux, and on and on and on. You're talking about guys with multiple riding titles at numerous tracks that are 'bench' players so to speak.

[westernmassbob]

Originally Posted by Andy Asaro

Obviously a 10 out of 10 as far as Jockey Colonies go. In Ca they went from a 7 or 8 last year to a 6 this year. Nobody close to Saratoga colony

Agree for most part HOWEVER let’s not forget the Gulfstream championship meet. That would come in second to Saratoga.

[classhandicapper]

Interesting that Migliore loves Cordero. He’s definitely right, but I think Angel would take a lot of heat if he rode these days the same way Irad does. He was constantly herding, pinning horses in, taking horses out on the turn etc.. On the flip side, we’d see way more fast paces in NY. No one would be stealing races in NY anymore, except maybe Angel.

[classhandicapper]

Imagine if Ramon Dominguez’s career wasn’t cut short. He may have been better than all of them.

[cj]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Imagine if Ramon Dominguez’s career wasn’t cut short. He may have been better than all of them.

May have?

[lamboguy]

the riding colony this year is the best i have ever seen there. i am guessing that the handle and attendance so far in the meet must be up as well. the pools that i look at are monstrous. maybe the whole combo is working there this year.

[pandy]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Interesting that Migliore loves Cordero. He’s definitely right, but I think Angel would take a lot of heat if he rode these days the same way Irad does. He was constantly herding, pinning horses in, taking horses out on the turn etc.. On the flip side, we’d see way more fast paces in NY. No one would be stealing races in NY anymore, except maybe Angel.

If memory serves me correctly, Cordero was fined and suspended for careless riding more than any rider except Eddie Arcaro, or maybe as much as. He did take heat for his aggressive style of riding in NY and even on the national stage. He also almost ran me over in the Aqueduct parking lot once, so he drove cars the same way he rode horses. I had been calling the charts that day and I stayed to watch a few replays. When I was on my way to my car, all of a sudden this big convertible Cadillac comes screaming around the bend right at me with Cordero and two pretty young women laughing and shouting with glee. I actually had to break into a canter to avoid getting decapitated, LOL.

I was in the nightclub in Saratoga Springs (can't remember it's name) one summer night years ago and I saw Angel Cordero walk in, but the bouncer wouldn't let him enter the club.

Cordero was the best rider I've ever seen, but definitely a little wild.

[Maximillion]

The horses are and should always be the main players.

Being smart,aggressive and a true pro is good.Putting yourself above them, and everything else or having a "bag of tricks" is not in my opinion.

[levinmpa]

No doubt it's really strong and should be. If you're a top jock, where else would you go in the summer months? Many more opportunities for mounts compared to Del Mar. Saratoga, roughly 50 races per week compared about 35 at Del Mar.

However, not sure how this colony compares to So. Cal in the 80's-90's.

Shoe
Pincay
McCarron
Hawley
Delahoussaye
Valenzuela
Stevens
Nakatani
Desourmeaux
Solis
Toro on the Turf

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by levinmpa

No doubt it's really strong and should be. If you're a top jock, where else would you go in the summer months? Many more opportunities for mounts compared to Del Mar. Saratoga, roughly 50 races per week compared about 35 at Del Mar.

However, not sure how this colony compares to So. Cal in the 80's-90's.

Shoe
Pincay
McCarron
Hawley
Delahoussaye
Valenzuela
Stevens
Nakatani
Desourmeaux
Solis
Toro on the Turf

That's a great colony as well.

I'm not a racing historian, I don't knock it - I'm that way about baseball.

This colony is somewhere from a great all-time colony to the greatest. Good question.


Any 'seething' gambler such as myself can find flaws with Saratoga's jockey colony of which to gripe and quibble about.

As obvious and certain as the high quality seems, -there are actually guys in simulcast/otb/railbird/twitter biospheres who will rant in a 'straight face' (or perhaps unsettling asymmetrical gaze), yet this is a special group.

Migliore is one to ask. This group is obviously skilled, talented and accomplished, but their depth and their 'CHARACTER' is a luxury.

[cj]

Tough for me to compare others from the past because of the plethora of turf racing now. It used to be the other way around, and not all that long ago.

[$w1fT]

Originally Posted by Maximillion

The horses are and should always be the main players.

Being smart,aggressive and a true pro is good.Putting yourself above them, and everything else or having a "bag of tricks" is not in my opinion.

I’m already sick of “jockey standings” from the FOX broadcast. It was the first week of the meet and all the hosts could talk about.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by $w1fT

I’m already sick of “jockey standings” from the FOX broadcast. It was the first week of the meet and all the hosts could talk about.

That was ALL we could talk about? Really?