Martin Garcia (jockey)
Encyclopedia
Martin Garcia is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing
who rides from a base in Southern California
.
He emigrated to the United States in 2003 and went to work at a delicatessen
in Pleasanton, California
. The deli's owner, Teri Terry, introduced him to Mark Hanna, a former jockey, who helped him get started in horse racing
as a stable hand and exercise rider. Garcia spent six months galloping horses before beginning to ride in races at Golden Gate Fields
.
On August 17, 2005, in his third race, Martin Garcia took his first win, riding Wild Daydreamer at the Bay Meadows Fair.
Garcia got his big break in the earlier part of 2006 by beating power house jockey Russell Baze
for leading jockey at Golden Gate Fields as Baze had dominated that circuit and track. And was tied with Baze by winning a title at Bay Meadows
.
In April 2006, Garcia relocated to southern California. At the Hollywood Park Racetrack meet he finished third behind Victor Espinoza
and Patrick Valenzuela, after riding 46 winning horses.
On May 15, 2010, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
trainee Lookin at Lucky
to a win at the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes
at Pimlico Race Course
in Baltimore, Maryland.
On August 1, 2010, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
trainee Lookin at Lucky
to win the 43rd Haskell Invitational Handicap
at Monmouth Park Racetrack
in Oceanport, New Jersey
.
On May 6, 2011, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
trained filly Plum Pretty to win the 137th Kentucky Oaks
at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky
.
On May 7, 2011, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
trained horse C J Russell to win the Twinspires.com race at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky
.
On July 31, 2011, Garcia rallied from last on the Bob Baffert
trainee Coil to win the 44th Haskell Invitational Handicap
at Monmouth Park Racetrack
in Oceanport, New Jersey
.
Other top mounts for Garcia include: Somethingaboutlaura, Get Funky, Sweeter Still, Sierra Sweetie, Briecat, Z Humor, Dance With Gable, and Strawberry Tart.
|-
!Chart (2006–present)
!Peak
position
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|36
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
| style="text-align:center;"|57
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|70
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|71
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
who rides from a base in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
He emigrated to the United States in 2003 and went to work at a delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
in Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
. The deli's owner, Teri Terry, introduced him to Mark Hanna, a former jockey, who helped him get started in horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
as a stable hand and exercise rider. Garcia spent six months galloping horses before beginning to ride in races at Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
.
On August 17, 2005, in his third race, Martin Garcia took his first win, riding Wild Daydreamer at the Bay Meadows Fair.
Garcia got his big break in the earlier part of 2006 by beating power house jockey Russell Baze
Russell Baze
Russell Avery Baze is a horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame....
for leading jockey at Golden Gate Fields as Baze had dominated that circuit and track. And was tied with Baze by winning a title at Bay Meadows
Bay Meadows
Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.-History:Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating thoroughbred racetrack in California, having been founded on November 13,...
.
In April 2006, Garcia relocated to southern California. At the Hollywood Park Racetrack meet he finished third behind Victor Espinoza
Victor Espinoza
Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California....
and Patrick Valenzuela, after riding 46 winning horses.
On May 15, 2010, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert
Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
trainee Lookin at Lucky
Lookin at Lucky
Lookin At Lucky is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes. Sired by Smart Strike, a half brother to Canadian Triple Crown Winner Dance Smartly, his dam, Private Feeling, was sired by Belong To Me by the North American Leading Sire of 1993, Danzig.Lookin At...
to a win at the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
at Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
in Baltimore, Maryland.
On August 1, 2010, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert
Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
trainee Lookin at Lucky
Lookin at Lucky
Lookin At Lucky is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes. Sired by Smart Strike, a half brother to Canadian Triple Crown Winner Dance Smartly, his dam, Private Feeling, was sired by Belong To Me by the North American Leading Sire of 1993, Danzig.Lookin At...
to win the 43rd Haskell Invitational Handicap
Haskell Invitational Handicap
The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...
at Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.Monmouth Park's marquee event...
in Oceanport, New Jersey
Oceanport, New Jersey
Oceanport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,832.Oceanport was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1920, from portions of Eatontown Township , based on the results of a...
.
On May 6, 2011, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert
Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
trained filly Plum Pretty to win the 137th Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
On May 7, 2011, Garcia rode the Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert
Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
trained horse C J Russell to win the Twinspires.com race at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
On July 31, 2011, Garcia rallied from last on the Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert
Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
trainee Coil to win the 44th Haskell Invitational Handicap
Haskell Invitational Handicap
The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...
at Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.Monmouth Park's marquee event...
in Oceanport, New Jersey
Oceanport, New Jersey
Oceanport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,832.Oceanport was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1920, from portions of Eatontown Township , based on the results of a...
.
Other top mounts for Garcia include: Somethingaboutlaura, Get Funky, Sweeter Still, Sierra Sweetie, Briecat, Z Humor, Dance With Gable, and Strawberry Tart.
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"|-
!Chart (2006–present)
!Peak
position
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|36
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
| style="text-align:center;"|57
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|70
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|71