Jorge Chavez (jockey)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jorge Chavez (born November 25, 1961 in Callao, Peru) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Chavez began his career in horse racing in 1982 in his native Peru and by 1987 was his country's leading rider. In April of 1988 he emigrated to the United States where he raced with a great deal of success at Florida race tracks. Moving to New York a few years later, Chavez was the leading rider on the NYRA circuit from 1994 to 1999. During this time he rose to national prominence. He won two of the 1999 Breeders' Cup races, taking both the Distaff and the Sprint. During the year Chavez also won Cigar Mile Handicap [for the second time in his career]. As a result of his stellar year, Chavez won the Eclipse Award as the nation's leading rider in 1999. A fan favorite on the New York circuit where he rode for many years, Chavez is affectionately referred to by the fans as "Chop Chop" due to his distinctive riding style. His riding style, specifically how he uses the "whip, appears to be somewhat aggressive. However, this is more a byproduct of Chavez having short arms, due to his height [reportedly 4' 10], as opposed to him being overly aggressive.
Jorge Chavez has won two Breeders' Cup races both in 1999. He won the Sprint with Artax who became the Eclipse Award Winner for Best Sprinter and won the Distaff with Beautiful Pleasure who too won Eclipse Award for Older Female of the year. In 2000, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award winner for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship".
In 2001, Chavez rode Monarchos to victory in the Florida Derby and then in America's most prestigious race, the Kentucky Derby. The following year he won the Woodward Stakes, however, his career started to slow. Chavez has not been able to return to his previous glory days and accomplishments since suffering a broken back in a spill in the Florida Derby in 2003.
As of mid-summer 2006, Chavez has been riding on the competitive Southern California racing circuit which includes the prestigious Santa Anita and Del Mar tracks. In late June 2007, there were rumors circulating that Chavez might be returning to the East Coast to ride. The rumors were confirmed, when on July 6, 2007, Chavez stated in an interview that he would in fact be returning to NY in order to be closer to his family. While there was talk of him going to Monmouth Park, in NJ, for the summer, it turns out that Chavez returned to NY and made the decision to go to Saratoga for the 2007 meet. Of course the NY fans gave Chavez a very warm return welcome as he has always been a fan favroite.