Rafael Bejarano (born June 23, 1982 in
ArequipaArequipa is the capital of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 904,931 it is the second most populous city of the country. Arequipa lies in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 2,380 meters above sea level; the snow-capped volcano El Misti overlooks the city...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
) is a Champion
jockeyIn sport, a jockey is one who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing; however, camel jockey profession is slowly being replaced by robotics.-Horse racing:...
in
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred horse racingThoroughbred 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 jump racing...
. He trained at the Peruvian national riding school before embarking on his professional career in 1999. Having met with success, including winning the apprentice riding title at
Hipódromo de MonterricoThe Hipódromo de Monterrico is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1960 in Lima, Peru. Operated by the Jockey Club del Peru, it has a one and one-eight mile dirt racetrack with a one mile inside track for turf racing....
in
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
, he emigrated to the United States in the spring of 2002 and settled in
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 713,877 , with a population of 1,244,696 in the Louisville...
. He got his first win on July 10th that year at
River Downs- History :River Downs opened in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1925. It was opened 15 years after the closing of a previous track in Cincinnati, Old Oakley Race Course. The race track sits right along the banks of the Ohio River....
in
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. The municipality is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. The population within city limits was estimated to be 333,336 in 2008, making it the state's third largest city...
and went on to major race wins in Kentucky and on the
New York Racing AssociationThe New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that runs the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island , and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York...
circuit.
In 2004, Rafael Bejarano was the
United States Champion Jockey by winsThere is no formal championship award given to the jockey who won the most races in United States Thoroughbred racing. However, it is a prestigious accomplishment always on any jockey's resumé and widely reported on by the various media.-Milestones:...
with 455.
Rafael Bejarano (born June 23, 1982 in
ArequipaArequipa is the capital of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 904,931 it is the second most populous city of the country. Arequipa lies in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 2,380 meters above sea level; the snow-capped volcano El Misti overlooks the city...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
) is a Champion
jockeyIn sport, a jockey is one who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing; however, camel jockey profession is slowly being replaced by robotics.-Horse racing:...
in
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred horse racingThoroughbred 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 jump racing...
. He trained at the Peruvian national riding school before embarking on his professional career in 1999. Having met with success, including winning the apprentice riding title at
Hipódromo de MonterricoThe Hipódromo de Monterrico is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1960 in Lima, Peru. Operated by the Jockey Club del Peru, it has a one and one-eight mile dirt racetrack with a one mile inside track for turf racing....
in
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
, he emigrated to the United States in the spring of 2002 and settled in
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 713,877 , with a population of 1,244,696 in the Louisville...
. He got his first win on July 10th that year at
River Downs- History :River Downs opened in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1925. It was opened 15 years after the closing of a previous track in Cincinnati, Old Oakley Race Course. The race track sits right along the banks of the Ohio River....
in
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. The municipality is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. The population within city limits was estimated to be 333,336 in 2008, making it the state's third largest city...
and went on to major race wins in Kentucky and on the
New York Racing AssociationThe New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that runs the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island , and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York...
circuit.
In 2004, Rafael Bejarano was the
United States Champion Jockey by winsThere is no formal championship award given to the jockey who won the most races in United States Thoroughbred racing. However, it is a prestigious accomplishment always on any jockey's resumé and widely reported on by the various media.-Milestones:...
with 455. As part of his 2004 success, on March 12th at
Turfway ParkTurfway Park is an American horse racing track located in Florence, Kentucky, about 10 miles south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during three meets each year--Fall, Holiday, and Winter/Spring--and offers year-round simulcast wagering from tracks...
in
Florence, KentuckyFlorence is a city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 23,551 at the 2000 census, but estimated to be 27,745 in 2008.-History:...
he won seven races on a single race card and ended the meet with a track-record 196 wins. In the American Classic Races, he finished eighth aboard Andromeda's Hero in the 2005
Kentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ...
then rode him to a second place finish in the
Belmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, following five weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes...
. In the 2006 Derby he finished ninth on Point Determined. He first rode in the
Preakness StakesThe Preakness Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race 1-3/16 mile thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses, held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
in 2004 and got his best result in 2005 with a fourth place finish on Sun King.
In the 2007
Blue Grass StakesThe Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky....
Bejarano scored a dramatic upset win with Dominican, defeating the 2006
U.S. Champion 2-year-old coltThe American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
,
Street SenseStreet Sense is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt and winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2007 Travers Stakes and runner up in the 2007 Preakness Stakes by a head. Owned and bred by James B. Tafel, his dam is Bedazzle, a granddaughter of Northern Dancer, and his...
. Bejarano also won the 2008 Track Meet at Santa Anita. He had a grand total of 67 wins. Also, he won the Hollywood Park meet and Del Mar meet as well.
Bejarano is a finalist for the
Eclipse AwardThe Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
for
Outstanding JockeyThe Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor for jockeys first awarded in 1971. Part of the Eclipse Awards program, it is awarded annually....
for 2008.