It’s not uncommon to find a young novice jockey in New York during the frigid winter months at Aqueduct race track.
It’s rare to find someone who showed as much promise in her early travels as Madison Olver.
At the age of 23, the Colorado-born girl just started her career as a jockey a month ago. Since then, she’s only ridden in 21 races and received the standard 10-pound weight to help make up for the huge difference in experience between her and the veterans. The learning curve is huge and it’s natural to expect scant results for someone with so little experience on the sport’s premier year-round track.
However, in a very short time, Olver has made the difficult transition from an eye-opening style gymnast.
Although she only has one win in those 21 rides, she has six seconds and three thirds, which earns her money 48% of the time, a number that rarely happens to a learner. The new job weighs 10 pounds, the person by law cannot have more than five pounds. winning career.
Joe Migliore, her agent, said: “You don’t see this kind of success for a 10-pound ‘bug’ racer. “As she continues to get her first experiences in a race, she will improve even more. She is a quick learner and a good learner. She is really caring and attentive.”
Although jockey fields and colonies may not be as strong at Big A in December as they are in August at Racecourse Saratoga, succeeding at any level and time for a novice is never a simple task. For a better understanding of just how impressive it can be to win in almost half of your passes, consider seasoned veterans Kendrick Carmouche, Hall of Famer Javier Castellano and Dylan Davis, three-armed. top race at the Aqueduct winter encounter. Carmouche earns 43% of the time, Castellano 45% and Davis 46%. All three are slightly lower than Olver’s mark, which has been styled for riding 15 horses that cost 10-1 and up.
“It was an indescribable thrill for me. I just loved it. I knew I would love to be a jockey, but I didn’t know I would love it so much. I feel lucky. Lucky to be able to do this,” Olver said. “There’s a lot more adrenaline in a race than in a training session. The moment you ask a horse to go and the horse responds, that’s special. There’s a whole different level of excitement. When there’s a horse, there’s a whole new level of excitement. the horse owes you nothing, doing something for you just because you asked him is a pretty crazy feeling, and I like it.”
Olver is quickly becoming a favorite among rangers. Her mount has appeared in the hit 13 times, and seven of them have been successful with 19-1 odds or higher. While her only winner, Tom Morley trained Pebble paid $27.20 to win Aqueduct’s sixth race on December 9, she also finished second with runs 23-1 and 19-1, third with 57-1 , 31-1 and 25-1, and fourth with 54-1 and 49-1.
Madison Olver takes her first win aboard the Curbstone at the Aqueduct . Raceway
“When you look at the odds of the horses she’s ridden and how well she’s done, you know she’s going to do well with more chances,” says Migliore. “She had six seconds, and a few of those were lost by a very close margin. I am very pleased with her work ethic, her enthusiasm and I am very happy about her future. I think she is. He’s a promising young racer.”
Olver’s cheery mood was tested by nervous tension on her first ride and then paid off with excitement on her first win.
After spending the last two years as exercise equestrian for trainer Christophe Clement, Olver joined Migliore’s forces with the help of Clement’s son and assistant coach, Miguel , a close friend of Migliore’s.
That leads to November 12 in the ninth race at the Big A, when Olver enters a race for the first time and guides Orlando-trained Orlando Noda. Flattery Gal finished in third place with a score of 31-1.
Olver said: “I felt strangely calm for that race. “I was expecting the worst, and when it wasn’t the worst, I was unbelievably delighted.”
On her 15th voyage, she clinched a six-turn victory in a two-turn, nine-turn, $40,000 race aboard the Curbstone and was treated like a ritual sprinkle of water and powder to salute welcome a newcomer to the winner’s circle for the first time.
Madison Olver is dipped in water and powder
“When I won that race, I was totally addicted to it,” Olver said. “It’s like winning the Kentucky Derby.”
One of her mentors was Richard Migliore, Joe’s father and the champion’s apprentice in 1981. He believes the skill set Olver used in her victory bodes well. for her development on the highly competitive New York Racing Association track.
“As for her first winner, when she went around the first turn, she really looked around before dropping in. And that might seem like a small thing, but being an apprentice is heavy. 10 pounds of their awareness of their surroundings is not insignificant,” said eldest brother Migliore, an NYRA internal and cable analyst.
“That says a lot about her understanding the mental part of this game, which is harder to master than people think. She’s got a long way to go physically, but that’s going to take place. coming to the races and times as she gets stronger and hones her skills.She is easy to train.She is very enthusiastic and never doubts the enthusiasm that will take the racers away. how far in this game.”
In particular, the winner of 4,450 races said he was impressed with how quickly Olver adapted to the difference between horse training and racing.
“Working with horses in the morning is like basic training. A race is like being on the front lines,” says Migliore. “When you can stay calm on the front lines, with bombs going off around you and things going unchecked or unbridled, like when you’re in basic training, that’s when you become a racer. and Maddy achieved it.”
Olver’s enthusiasm is best demonstrated by the positive energy she exudes and her willingness to see every day as an opportunity to learn something important about her new profession.
“Things are slowly coming together and I feel like it will continue to slowly come to me,” she said. “As such, patience is very important, although as a woman in the sport, I know I have to be assertive. I always set high standards for myself, so I wouldn’t say I’m in the running. do it well, that can be good.” because it makes me hungry. I know there are things I need to learn. I was second with a horse that had just arrived a little, and if I had read more about him I could have anticipated that, handled it and we might have won,” Olver said. . all the other racers, that means the world to me.”
Olver said female racers Jacqueline Davis and her sister, Katie Davis, have been role models for her. Katie Davis is also represented by Joe Migliore, who represents her husband, Trevor McCarthy, who is hoping to resume riding in early February after sustaining a broken collarbone and undisplaced pelvis.
Coaches Morley, Noda and Oscar Barrera III were at the top of Olver’s early supporters, but that list is growing. She has four mounts on the December 15 Aqueduct pass and three mounts on the December 16 show. This weekend, if the race is complete, she will also ride one of the horses left by Christophe Clement. in New York for the winter.
Madison Olver in the winner’s circle with Curbstone
Clement has played a central role in Olver’s racing career.
Upon graduating from high school, Olver decided to take a break before starting college and looking for a place where she could pursue her lifelong passion for horseback riding. She found it in France, in all places. Having spent part of her childhood in the countryside, she accepted a job with coach Gina Rarick and worked abroad for two years.
“I don’t know what I was thinking when I took that job,” Olver said with a warm smile. “I don’t think I was thinking.”
She then contacted Clement for a job in her home country of the United States and was hired two years ago as an exercise equestrian for one of New York’s top stables.
After watching her quickly become a high-value exercise equestrian, Clement, who is 11th on the all-time earnings list, isn’t surprised she’s converted. smoothly into racing horse riding.
“She did a great job,” Clement said. “She’s a good horsewoman and a hard-working and kind person. I’m glad things are going in the right direction for her. She’s dreamed of this and she’s living that dream. , that’s great. We’re going to help her as much as we can.
“I could see how good she would be from the way she rode in the morning, and it’s hard to explain, but some people like Maddy make horses run better than others. They reciprocate her. “
So as the days at the Big Apple get colder, while most New Yorkers will do their best to stay warm inside, Olver will stay outside on cold, dreary days, studying. in the classroom of Aqueduct’s oval 1/8 mile long. . If successful, her advantage at one level will be reduced, with a cut to the 7-pound allowance after 5 wins, followed by a drop to 5 pounds after 35 wins, and an end to apprenticeship. hers a year after her fifth win. However, beyond that, there will be more opportunities to ride. The 10-pound apprentice is not allowed to participate in 2-year-old races and grass races, or as a first-time beginner, and the experience she has gained from the daily riding is priceless.
It won’t be easy and initial success doesn’t guarantee future success, but Madison Olver seems determined to make steady progress that will make her a favorite with many owners and trainers. members, not to mention those with disabilities who are looking for fun long-range shots.
“There are a lot of good riders in New York and they’re all hard workers,” she said. “It’s hard to keep up with them, but I know I have to work hard to show people how capable I am and how strong I am physically, and I’m happy to do that.”
