
Jockey Lane Luzzi Follows in Father's Footsteps
Lane Luzzi always wanted to be beside his father, Mike, a well-respected jockey on the ultra-competitive New York circuit.
Lane Luzzi always wanted to be beside his father, Mike, a well-respected jockey on the ultra-competitive New York circuit.
Apprentice jockey Lane Luzzi, son of veteran New York rider Mike Luzzi, won his first race Dec. 4 when he rode Midwest Thoroughbreds' Flo's Strawberry in Laurel Park's third race.
Though he has been cleared by doctors to resume riding, New York-based veteran journeyman Mike Luzzi said he has not set a timetable to return to the saddle.
Santa Anita Park has announced that 2015 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award winner Mike Luzzi will travel west from his home in New York to receive the prestigious Woolf Award trophy in a ceremony between races April 12.
Mike Luzzi, America's Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 1989, has been named the winner of the 2015 Santa Anita George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award by a nationwide vote of his peers.
Veteran riders James Graham, Mike Luzzi, Leslie Mawing, and Corey Nakatani, along with the recently retired Rosie Napravnik are the 2015 finalists for the Santa Anita George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.
Five Iron shot to a 19-1 upset in the $150,000 Fort Marcy Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Belmont Park when favored Ghurair failed to fire in his United States debut in one of two graded stakes on the turf on the Derby day card May 3.
Veteran jockey Mike Luzzi will undergo shoulder surgery for an injury he suffered May 10 and will be out for 12-18 weeks, the rider told the New York Racing Association May 19.
Singlet showed her heels to Kid Kate in the $75,000 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Dec. 1, posting her third win in four starts at the New York oval.
Rebounding from a dismal outing in the Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II), Le Bernardin battled for the lead in the stretch and had just enough to hold off Easter Gift in the $103,000 Pegasus Stakes (gr. III) at Monmouth Park June 17.
The Lumber Guy enjoyed the cutback to a mile in the $200,000 Jerome (gr. II), as he fended off pressure all the way around the track to score by 2 3/4 lengths April 21 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. got an inkling of how good he has it when his charges Yawanna Twist and This Ones for Phil finished one-two in the General George Handicap (gr. II) Feb. 20 at Laurel.
Godolphin Racing's highly-regarded Alpha rebounded from a disappointing effort in the Breeders' Cup by comfortably winning the $150,000 Count Fleet Stakes Jan. 7 at Aqueduct in his 3-year-old debut.
Touching Beauty won a roughly run $100,000 Comely Stakes (gr. III) when odds-on choice She'll Be Doggone nearly went down after being shut off at the rail near mid-stretch at Aqueduct April 10.
Prominent jockeys Mike Luzzi and Rajiv Maragh will join boxing trainer and ESPN2 Friday Night Fights analyst Teddy Atlas in attending the annual Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation Dinner.
House of Grace caught Smart Seattle at the wire to register a nose victory in the $150,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes, which was taken off the turf and transferred to Keeneland's Polytrack Oct. 15 at the rain-slickened Lexington track.
The Horsemen's Golf Tournament, to benefit the New York Racing Association's Backstretch Employee Service Team, will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6 at Wheatley Hills Golf Club in Williston Park, Long Island, New York.
Chevalier Stable's Weathered repelled a bid from Winning Point in a determined stretch run to earn her first graded-stakes victory in the $100,000 Next Move (gr. III) March 28 at Aqueduct.
Red-hot Researcher took his jump into graded stakes company in stride by winning the $108,400 Queens County Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Dec. 13 for his fourth consecutive victory.
Jeff Singer's Cowgirl's Don't Cry went straight to the front and never looked back, scoring the $150,000 Shuvee Handicap (gr. II) by 2 1/4 lengths under Mike Luzzi to earn the biggest win of her career May 17 at Belmont Park.
Daaher was beaten soundly for the second consecutive race, this time in the Stymie Handicap March 1 at Aqueduct.
City Attraction ground past pacesetter Debussy mid-stretch and proved best in the final strides to win the $105,100 Gravesend Handicap (gr. III) for sprinters on a muddy and sealed Aqueduct inner racing strip Dec. 29.
Fox Ridge Farm homebred Tasteyville led all the way while winning the $142,500 Sport Page Handicap (gr. III) by 9 1/4 lengths over a small field assembled at a sloppy Aqueduct Oct. 27.
There were some anxious moments for Any Given Saturday in the $150,000 Brooklyn Handicap (gr. II) Sept. 22 at Belmont Park. But the 1-5 favorite eventually took over at the sixteenth pole and then pulled away for a 2 1/2-length victory in his final prep before the Oct. 27 $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (gr. I).
Godolphin Stable's Utopia, a 7-year-old Japanese-bred who had not started since winning the 2006 Godolphin Mile (UAE-II) more than a year ago, stayed strong on the rail, overcoming a rough stretch run for a one-length victory in Wednesday's $107,700 Westchester Handicap (gr. III), the opening day feature of Belmont Park's 60-day spring/summer meet.
Everything came up roses for Carmandia, who made a bold move on the rail for jockey Mike Luzzi to sweep past the speedy Magnolia Jackson and register a two-length win in the $153,900 Bed o' Roses Handicap (gr. II) for fillies and mares at Aqueduct Saturday.
Melnyk Racing Stable's Indian Vale, who endured several false starts to begin her 5-year-old year, finally got back to the races Saturday afternoon and delivered a 5 1/2-length victory in the $104,800 Next Move Handicap (gr. III) for fillies and mares at nine furlongs on the Aqueduct inner track.
Lawrence the Roman, who had crushed his opposition by nearly 30 combined lengths in three previous starts, gave a severe jolt to the Derby plans of his connections when he beat only one horse in the $70,070 Whirlaway, a race for 3-year-olds won handily by second choice Summer Doldrums Saturday at Aqueduct.
Front-running Accountforthegold peeled away from the field at the head of the stretch en route to his first open and graded stakes victory in the $110,100 Stuyvesant Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Saturday.
Oak Crest Farm's homebred Sutra took advantage of a hot pace to tally a rail-skimming victory under jockey Mike Luzzi in Saturday's $400,000 Frizette (gr. I) for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont Park.
Godolphin Stable's Ashkal Way bowed his neck in deep stretch and got the best of Free Thinking in the final jumps to win the $250,000 Kelso Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. IIT) at one mile on the Belmont Park turf Saturday.
One of the worst things a jockey at Saratoga can do to win a race these days is to use the rail in the final furlongs. There is a hard, smooth glide path just off the rail that seems to be more user-friendly to stretch-running horses en route to the winning post.
Stronach Stables' Spun Sugar notched her second grade I victory of the year with a gut-wrenching effort to defeat the outsider Balletto by a whisker in the $250,000 Go for Wand Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course Sunday.
The apparent hiring of the team of sports agent Dwight Manley and civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson as national manager has created uneasiness among some members of the Jockeys' Guild who put their support behind Dave Stevenson, a former rider and consultant with knowledge of the inner workings and politics of the pari-mutuel industry.
Jockey Garrett Gomez, currently riding in California, has been named to replace the injured John Velazquez as Todd Pletcher's first-call rider.
Jockey Mike Luzzi was forced to take off his mounts at Aqueduct Saturday when his release from nearby North Shore University Hospital was delayed.
Jockey Mike Luzzi was taken to North Shore Hospital complaining of lower back pain after being involved in a one-horse spill during Friday's third race at Aqueduct.
Chester and Mary Broman's Seeking the Ante became a graded stakes winner Saturday when she rallied on the outside to defeat Slew Motion by a length in the $192,000 Nassau County Breeders' Cup (gr. II) for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.
Patricia A. Generazio's Don Six sped to the front then held off his late challengers to win Sunday's $109,400 Gravesend Handicap (gr. III) by 1 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct.
Jockey Mike Luzzi, saying he hopes to be riding by the opening of the Belmont Park fall meeting Sept. 10, returned to the Saratoga jockeys' room Wednesday morning for the first time since he suffered a broken femur on opening day at Saratoga.
Jockey Mike Luzzi was resting comfortably at Albany Medical Center Thursday morning, after undergoing surgery Wednesday night for a broken right femur.
Lorraine and Rod Rodriguez's Bossanova, winner of the Fall Weight Handicap (gr. III) in November, was euthanized Sunday after fracturing both sesamoid bones of his right foreleg during the stretch run of the $81,675 Hollie Hughes Handicap at Aqueduct.
Evening Attire rarely ventures away from New York, so when he does it's safe to say that he is ready to run and is expected to be the overwhelming favorite in Saturday's $150,000 John B. Campbell Breeders' Cup Handicap at Laurel Park.
Jay Em Ess Stable's She's Zealous carried jockey Mike Luzzi to his fourth win of the day, a front-running, hard-fought one-length victory over Fit Performer Saturday in the $82,875 Correction Handicap for fillies and mares on Aqueduct's fast inner dirt track.
Roger L. Coles Jr.'s Shake You Down had too much class and speed for his six opponents in Saturday's $109,000 Gravesend Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct, and that easily translated to a front-running victory over Way to the Top for the multiple graded stakes winner.
Robert Cole Jr.'s Shake You Down heads a field of 10 in Saturday's $300,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (gr. I). The 4-5 morning line choice might be the most accomplished entry in the field, but he still has plenty to contend with.
On Sunday at Belmont, Artie Schiller makes his stakes debut when he starts as the favorite in the $75,000-added Pilgrim Stakes (post time 5:12 p.m.).
Claiborne Farm's Patrol likes a firm turf and when he finally found it Saturday at Lone Star Park, he proved much the best in the $250,000 Dallas Turf Cup.
Favored Shake You Down put away Here's Zealous in the stretch and went on to win Saturday's $108,400 Bold Ruler Handicap (gr. III) at Belmont Park in gate-to-wire fashion.
Delta Princess and leading rider Mike Luzzi squeezed through on the inside in the stretch, then held off a challenge from second-place Wonder Again to win the $112,400 Beaugay Handicap (gr. IIIT) on Saturday at Aqueduct.