Rosario gave DeGregory another call in the hall

Here it is, number 11. Vince DeGregory has won another one. The veteran agent is celebrating Joel Rosario’s election into the Racing Hall of Fame with a series of fond memories, and the entry in his cell phone records is the latest – he says final – information. among the riders he represented so honorably.

“This is a real thrill for me,” DeGregory said this week from his home nearby Santa Anita Park. “I’ve been with Joel since the beginning in Southern California. He and I still talk regularly. I’m proud of him and he handles himself very well. He came to this country speaking very little English , and now he’ll be there to receive his Hall of Fame plaque. What a story.”

There are moments in every racing journalist’s life that seem innocent enough at the time but become the seeds of great things to pursue. Leaving Hollywood Park by the walking loop gate one June afternoon – the year was 2007 – DeGregory met a young man with a body as big as a jockey’s. DeGregory was anxious to make introductions.

“I want you to meet Joel Rosario,” the agent said. “He’s going up north and he’s about to start here. I promise you he’s going to be the next big star.”

Rosario smiled and held out his hand. His handshake is gentle, reminiscent of the way Laffit Pincay Jr. Avoiding the test of manly strength with a gentle grip. With that, and Rosario’s smile, it looked like DeGregory had something to do.

It helped that at the time Rosario was dominating the market Golden Gate Fields and Meadows Bay. Through early June, he had won 117 races in Northern California, regularly posting multiple winner days. After one of these performances, DeGregory heard from his friend, Joe Griffin.

“Do you see little Rosario up here?” Griffin asked. “He’s from Santo Domingo.”

“No, what about him?” DeGregory responded.

“He just won three races yesterday. You should take him down there.”

“Can he speak English?” DeGregory asked.

“I don’t think so, but…”

“Don’t care,” DeGregory said. “It’s difficult if he can’t communicate with people.”

A few weeks later, Griffin called back.

“I hope you’re still watching this Rosario boy,” he said. “He won four today.”

“How much?” DeGregory asked.

“Four.”

“Tell him to call me.”

Rosario, then 22 years old, was called up to Southern California with a five-win streak on April 26, 2007, at Golden Gate Fields. Three weeks later, he got his chance at Hollywood Park, with support from coaches such as John Sadler, but the competition was stiff and DeGregory admitted that his new athlete was facing a learning journey.

“I told him he needed to learn how to switch clubs and be left-handed,” DeGregory said. “He always uses his right hand and when he passes another horse down the stretch he has to check a few strides to get his horse to stay upright. I showed him that every time he did it, he paid the price. His horse was long, maybe two, and that made the difference in losing the race.

DeGregory continued: “At first Joel lived with me on Beverly Drive, near the CBS Studio. “As we drove along La Brea Avenue toward Hollywood Park, he pointed out signs that read ‘Money Order.’ I asked him what about it. “For the family,” he said. “Back to Santo Domingo.” That opened my eyes to him, a kid new to the United States, worried about the nine family members he had back home in the Dominican Republic.

“At one point I took him with Eddie Delahoussaye,” DeGregory said. “Joel always wanted to come from behind and get up in the last section. Eddie told him he needed to move earlier and be more open, especially with the cheaper horses who would bravely lead Joel is a good listener, and he wants to learn.”

Rosario learned, and then some. As of April 26, his mounts have earned more than $318 million, fourth on the all-time list behind only John Velazquez, Javier Castellano and Mike Smith. The most recent of Rosario’s 3,607 winners came on Friday at Keeneland on the train Nyquistist 2 years old Burn pine for coach Wesley Ward.

On May 4, Rosario will try to put the cherry on top of his Hall of Fame status with a second Kentucky Derby (G1) win aboard Follow the ghost , from the Steve Asmussen stable. He won the 2013 Derby with globe then added Belmont Stakes (G1) titles to his collection in 2014 and 2019. Rosario won the first of 15 Breeders’ Cup events in 2009 and the Eclipse Award as a filly. excellent racing of 2021, when he was partnered with Horse of the Year Knicks go .

As long as we’re counting, though, let’s get back to DeGregory and his ability to beat out the 10 Hall of Fame hitters on his resume before Rosario’s election. So he began:

“Angel Cordero, Laffit Pincay, Chris McCarron, Bill Shoemaker, Jacinto Vasquez—when he was 17, from Panama!—Alex Solis, Victor Espinoza, Darrel McHargue and Corey Nakatani last year. And now Joel.”

Head spinning.

DeGregory: “I couldn’t even imagine that I would have the opportunity to work with so many great riders.”

Then again, DeGregory has been fired by those same greats, a common hazard of the profession that he blames on his purposeful intensity.

“I don’t make excuses,” DeGregory said. “I insist my riders take this as a serious business. This is a life or death job that they have to undertake. They need to take care of themselves, treat their trainers and owners with respect own, talk to the people at the stables about their horses.”

DeGregory was a star athlete at Saratoga High School in baseball and basketball before venturing into track life.

“My first job at the track was walking at Saratoga for a trainer named Harry Hatcher,” DeGregory said. “The next summer, I was Pinkerton, but I told my boss I didn’t like carrying guns. He told me just to lock the gun and he would take me to the range where I could stand under the shady trees. and all I had to do was stop the kids from climbing over the fence.

“Eddie Arcaro knew my dad and took me under his wing,” DeGregory continued. “When I wanted to become an agent, he took me to meet the managers and vouched for me. Marshall Cassidy said, ‘I know this young man. I’ve seen him play softball in tournaments at the racetrack.’ I’m 16 years old.”

In the past, agents have attended Hall of Fame inductions for their longtime clients, but they rarely appear on stage. DeGregory had that privilege in 1975 when Pincay was sidelined with a broken collarbone in California and didn’t want to make the trip east. DeGregory happily represented a ceremony that included Carry Back, Ruthless, Shuvee, Stymie, jockey Conn McCreary, and trainers Carey Winfrey and Allen Jerkens. At age 28, Pincay is the youngest rider ever inducted.

Eligibility rules changed, requiring runners to have been riding for 20 years before they could appear on the ballot. Rosario’s career began in Puerto Rico in 2003, which made him eligible for the first time this year. He will be honored with the 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and 2018 Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner justification in a ceremony scheduled for August 2 at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, NY, just around the corner from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.