Profiles & Standings

Jockey Profiles

Tamay Alpander
Alpander has a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of Maine, but she ventured to the racetrack after graduation for a career in the saddle. She guided Courtly Kathy to victories in the 1998 Hoist The Flag and Lady Slipper Stakes at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. She raced at Delaware Park, Philadelphia Park and in New Jersey before returning to New England. She had six wins in 2009.

David Amiss
Amiss is entering his sixth consecutive season at Suffolk Downs after a strong 2009 meet. The New Hampshire native won 76 races last season, good for fourth in the jockey standings. In 2008, he won two stakes races at Suffolk Downs in 2008, the Norman Hall Stakes aboard Same Day Pleasure and the Mom's Command with Anofficerandalady.The New England Turf Writers Association honored Amiss for his 2007 accomplishments with a Special Achievement Award. He cites a low-fat diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables as a key to his performance. Amiss got his start in racing as a teenager with trainer John Rigattieri, working his way up on the farm from rubbing horses to eventually riding After having spent previous winters at Gulfstream Park, Amiss rode at Tampa Bay Downs for the fourth straight winter.

Orlando Bocachica
Bocachica returned to the saddle on a full-time basis after two years out of racing in 2007 and quickly resumed his position as one of the most consistent riders in New England. In 2009, he earned his first meet title with 111 wins from 573 starts .In 2008, his major stakes wins came aboard Judiths Wild Rush in the Waquoit Stakes and with Silks Crown in the Louise Kimball.Bocachica attended the Eddie Belmonte jockey school in his native Puerto Rico before coming stateside in the late 1990s Bocachica was aboard mid-Atlantic based Night Caller in 2002-03 for seven victories, including black-type wins in the 2002 Donald Levine Memorial Stakes at Philadelphia Park and Bob Harding Stakes at Monmouth Park and the 2003 Mr. Nickerson Handicap at Philadelphia Park Bocachica has six total stakes wins, including a score in the 2004 Rise Jim Stakes aboard leading Massachusetts-bred Stylish Sultan. He spent the winter riding at Aqueduct.

Alfredo Clemente
Clemente, a native of Puerto Rico, is a graduate of the Eddie Belmonte jockey school in his homeland that has produced many top riders. He came to the States in 1990, originally riding in Ohio, before moving his tack to West Virginia and eventually Florida and Tampa Bay Downs. In Florida, Clemente hooked up with trainer Ray Stifano in 2004, who encouraged him to try riding at Suffolk...Won the 1996 Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes at Thistledown with U.R. for Me. He had six winners in 2009 at Suffolk Downs and spent the winter at Tampa.

Clifford Dooley
Dooley made a triumphant return to East Boston in 2007 after spending 2006 away from race riding. In 2009, Dooley finished ninth in the jockey standings with 28 wins. Dooley won the first stakes race of his career on July 4, 2007 aboard Kimridge in the African Prince Stakes. He also won the Waquoit Stakes aboard Reprized Strike on the MassCap undercard Received a Special Achievement Award from the New England Turf Writers Association for his 2007 accomplishments Dooley attended the famed RACE jockey school in his homeland before coming stateside to begin his riding career. Dooley became interested in American racing after watching the Breeders' Cup races on TV as a child. He got the money to come to America after betting 100 pounds on an 11-1 shot that won in his homeland. He then showed up at Aqueduct and began working for trainer Leo O'Brien before taking out his license and coming to Suffolk as an apprentice. He rode successful in New England before going to the NYRA circuit, where he won three races at Aqueduct on one day as a bug rider... Has ridden around the globe, winning races in France, Spain and Saudi Arabia Spent this winter in Florida.

Ender Jimenez
A native of Venezuela, Jimenez has been a consistent performer on the New England circuit. A hard working rider, he enjoyed tremendous success at Calder in the mid 1990s, including a victory in the 1996 $600,000 Florida Stallion Stakes aboard His Honor, who went on to compete in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He returned to Suffolk Downs in 2009 after riding elsewhere in '08 and had eighteen winners, many of them longshots.

Luis A. Garcia
Most jockeys come from a rural background or grew up on a farm with horses, but not Garcia. A native of Guatemala, he was raised in Brooklyn, NY and was introduced to thoroughbred racing by an NYRA advertisement on the subway. His career in racing started in New York at Aqueduct, working as an exercise rider for trainer Bobby Lake before taking out his jockey license and riding with the"bug" on the NYRA circuit. Garcia has ridden primarily in New England, but he has had successful stints at both Hoosier Park and Delaware Park. In 2009, Garcia had sixteen local winners.

Pedro Gonzalez
Gonzalez was a leading apprentice rider in his native Puerto Rico before first coming stateside in 2001 Won his first U.S race at Tampa Bay Downs late that year. He spent much of the last five years at El Comandante in P.R. where he won multiple stakes races each season. He teamed up with Juan Camilo to win the Rudy Baez aboard Riversrunrylee in 2009 and had a total of 32 wins for the season.

Taylor Hole
An 18-year veteran that is always near the top of the local rider standings, Hole follows in the riding footsteps of his late father Michael, a British jockey who enjoyed success stateside before an untimely death in 1976. He first worked odd jobs as a stable hand at Rockingham Park in the mid-1980s before heading to Maryland to learn professional riding at a steeplechase farm with a friend of the family. After beginning his racing career in New England in 1992, Hole took his tack out of the region during the winter of 1996, but returned to New England from the New Jersey/Pennsylvania circuit in the spring of 1997...In addition to his ability in the saddle, Hole is an expert dirt bike motorcycle rider and has competed professionally in that sport as well... Hole won five races at Suffolk Downs on August 23, 2005, including four for trainer Ron Dandy...Won 27 races in 2007...Rode at Aqueduct this winter.

Dyn Panell
A 13-year veteran, Panell came to Suffolk as an apprentice in 1998 after Hurricane Georges shut down Hipodromo el Comandante in his homeland of Puerto Rico. Before coming stateside, he attended the famed jockey school of Eddie Belmonte that has produced many top Puerto Rican riders, including John Velazquez. As an apprentice, Panell rode successfully in New England and picked up his biggest client, starting a longstanding business relationship with John Rigattieri, the leading trainer at Suffolk the last four seasons. Panell demonstrated a prowess for riding in his first day at Suffolk, finishing second aboard 107-1 longshot Kiss You...Had the highest winning percentage among Suffolk jockeys in each of the last five seasons, winning 23% of his local races in 2009. He finished fifth in the standings with 58 wins from only 254 starters. He spent the winter riding at Laurel.

Tammi Piermarini
After missing nearly the entire 2006 meet, Piermarini, who gave birth to her second child (a son Johnny) on September 15 of that year, returned to record 10 victories in just seven racing days in 2006, including a four-win day on November 7. That performance was merely a prelude to 2007. Piermarini won four races on Opening Day en route to a meet-best 100 wins and her first ever Suffolk Downs riding title. She was also named recipient of her first Eli Chiat Award from the New England Turf Writers Association Piermarini rode first call for the high-powered barn of trainer Marcus Vitali. A native of Massachusetts, Piermarini developed a love of horses as a child when she spent time around show horses on a farm in Salisbury. After giving up show horses, she started in the saddle at Suffolk Downs as an exercise rider for trainers Bill Perry, Ned Allard, Karl Grusmark, Frank Shannon and Jeff Hooper. Began riding in 1985 as Tammi Campbell before taking her husband's name in 1999. Piermarini was aboard graded-stakes winner Tour d'Or when he equaled the track record at Belmont Park for 1 1/16 miles in 1987. Piermarini took time off in 2001 to give birth to her first child, a daughter Izabella. In 2009, she finished seventh in the standings with 47 wins despite missing significant time towards the end of the season when she found out she was pregnant with her third child.

Yamil Rosario
Rosario enters his fifth consecutive season at Suffolk Downs after enjoying another successful meet in 2009, finishing sixth in the rider standings with 50 wins. Rosario began riding as an apprentice in Chicago at Hawthorne before venturing to the East Coast, where he then competed at Monmouth and Philadelphia Park. Rosario is considered to be a patient rider with a good sense of pace. Much like Pat Day during his time, Rosario prefers to come from off the pace, as opposed to showing speed from the gate. Rosario credits the Rocco racing family for their support. He considers Joe Rocco Sr. to be a father figure and his biggest influence in the saddle Won the 2007 Last Dance Stakes at Suffolk Downs aboard Gorgeous Silk. He rode at Tampa Bay this winter.

Winston Thompson
Known for being one of the hardest working jockeys in New England, the 27-year veteran earned his fifth riding title in 2008. Won the 2007 Mystery Jet Stakes aboard Lily s Goldmine The Jamaican native swept leading rider honors at Suffolk Downs from 2004 through 2006 Had one of the best days of his career on June 18, 2005, winning six races on the Suffolk Downs program, including a victory in the $50,000 Old Ironsides Stakes on Miesque's Approval for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Miesque's Approval went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile and the Eclipse Award for top turf male in 2006 Thompson learned his race riding in a formal jockey training school, attending educational programs that are required for aspiring riders in his native country. He won his first race in 1983 at Caymans Park in Jamaica and was the leading apprentice in Jamaica in 1984 before coming to the U. S. two years later. Thompson had riding stints in New Jersey, Florida and West Virginia before coming to New England in 1988. He has been a fixture in Boston since...Was the leading rider at the 1995 Suffolk Downs Autumn meet...In 2000, had one of the most memorable days of his career, winning the $250,000 James B. Moseley Breeders' Cup Handicap aboard King Roller. In 2009, he finished second in the jockey standings with 95 wins. He spent the winter riding at Laurel Park.

Angel Vasquez Jr.
A native of Chile, Vasquez grew up around horses, as his father was an established trainer in his homeland. When Vasquez was a seven-year-old, his father accepted an opportunity to train in Venezuela, where Angel lived through his teenage years. At 17, Vasquez rode his first race in Venezuela. Two years later, he was riding at Calder Race Course after his father moved to the U. S. as a trainer of polo ponies. Vasquez then moved his tack to Belmont Park, where he suffered a series of injuries before taking a break from race riding. During his time away from racing, Vasquez established himself on the prestigious New York/Florida polo circuit as a player and trainer, spending his summers in the Hamptons and winters in Palm Beach. In 2002, Vasquez had a truly life-altering experience. After battles with drugs and alcohol, he became a born-again Christian."Everything changed in my life. I no longer had the bad habits that had plagued me." Newly invigorated, Vasquez set his sights on returning to the racetrack, although he was well above the weight required of a jockey. He began galloping for Gary Contessa and other trainers at Saratoga and eventually shed the excess pounds. Vasquez became an established member of the New England jockey colony in 2006, finishing ninth in the standings with 40 wins. He followed that up with a 20-win performance in 2007. Vasquez made several trips to Suffolk Downs in 2009.

 

Trainer Profiles

Pam Angevine
Angevine grew up riding show horses before making the transition to thoroughbreds in an interesting way. She purchased a horse named Brunswick Gold from the Great Barrington Fair as a teenager during the early 1980s and caught interest in the sport, apprenticing with Jerry Diorio before spending time learning under the jockey-turned-trainer David Deroin. She began training in 1995 and has gradually improved her stock. Angevine credits great owners for her recent success, notably Henry and Donald Barry, along with Michael DiMarzo and David Curcio... Angevine saddled New England's champion sprinter Dhaffir to a victory in the 2005 Topsider Breeders' Cup Stakes...Angevine had fourteen winners in 2009.

Charlie Assimakopoulos
Assimakopoulos is the private trainer for his family's Yasou Stable Trust, perennially one of the most successful stables at Suffolk Downs. The Fitchburg native splits time between the racetrack and his breeding and training center in Florida. When in Florida, his son John runs the racing operation. Assimakopoulos previously trained for Arthur Appleton, Hobeau Farm and the Gatsas Brothers of Manchester, NH, for whom he was the original trainer of millionaire Gander, the James B. Moseley Award winner as New England's Horse of the Year as well as New York-bred Horse of the Year in 2000. He also trained local legends Prolanzier and Kayla's A Gem, both winners of numerous stakes races at Suffolk Named the region's most outstanding trainer by the New England Turf Writers Association in 1991, 1993 and 1994...In 2008, he campaigned New England champion Southern Rainbow... Won with 20 of his 82 starters in 2009 and had a staggering in the money percentage of 52%. He spent the winter training at Laurel Park.

Kevin Clark
Clark entered racing as an outsider in 1986, when he and his brother-in-law, fellow trainer George Bailey, picked up some reliable runners and showed quick success. The Weymouth, MA native trained the stakes-winning mare Satin Sunrise, the dam of Grade 1 Stakes winner and 2004 Kentucky Derby runner-up Lion Heart. He acquired her through the claim box for $5,000 before setting her on the road to breeding greatness. Clark has shown shrewdness in the claiming game throughout his career. He claimed Mister Riley for $8,000 in 2004 and made him the winningest racehorse of the 2005 meeting with six victories. Clark saddled Mister Riley for four more wins in 2006...In 2009, he saddled 17 winners.

Mike Collins
Collins, a native of Cork, Ireland, rode in point-to-point races in his homeland before coming stateside. He runs a large stable with many starters each year at Suffolk. Collins trained Personal Moon, a two-time starter in the MassCap, and Tejano Couture, the winningest horse in North America in 2002. Collins won the 1996 Suffolk Downs Speed Stakes with Fringe on Top. In 2004, Collins ventured to Gulfstream Park for the winter and returned with Itsawonderfulife, New England's champion older horse in 2005... had 9 winners in 2009.

Carlos Figueroa
One of the most recognizable names and faces in New England racing, Figueroa prefers to go by his nickname,"King of the Fairs," given to him for his history of success on the New England fair circuit. In 1963, he saddled Shannon's Hope to five wins in an eight-day span at the Weymouth and Marshfield Fairs. He has saddled horses at 18 different tracks since 1976. Figueroa introduced 2005 Eclipse Award winning owner Mike Gill to the sport of thoroughbred racing in the 1980s. Figueroa trained Gill's New England division in 2005 and was thanked by Gill for his guidance during the Eclipse Award ceremony... Won the 1994 Lou Smith Award from the NETWA for outstanding yearly achievement...trained 9 winners at Suffolk Downs in 2009.

Charles Fontana
Fontana, a native of New York, began his training career in 1978, recording his first career win at Tampa Bay Downs. Fontana maintains a large string of horses at all three major Florida tracks and enjoyed 24 wins in the 2009 meet at Suffolk Downs.

George Handy
George Handy returned to Suffolk Downs in 2008 with over 60 years of experience as a trainer. Handy began his training career in 1946 and captured his first Suffolk Downs title in 1956. He won four more titles at Suffolk Downs in the 1960s. Handy has served as private trainer for prominent New England owner Francis McDonnell, conditioning numerous local stakes winners and New England champions, including Gator's Tracks in 2008. Handy and McDonnell were honored by the NETWA with the Lou Smith Memorial Award for contributions to New England racing in 2001.1. Handy’s national success includes a win in the 1981 Illinois Derby with Paristo, who finished third in the Preakness Stakes a month later. Has saddled stakes winners at over 15 different racetracks in his career. Handy was inducted in NETWA Hall of Fame in 2008 and in 2009 saddled 15 winners.

Lori Lockhart
Lockhart has deep roots in New England racing. Her father, Lloyd, is a longtime owner, trainer and breeder. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Lockhart's interest in racing dates back to her childhood The Lockhart white and blue silks are a dominating presence in the state-bred races, as they operate one of the larger thoroughbred breeding operations in the state...Her top horses have included Weepecket, a multiple-stakes-winning Mass-bred and Fetch Dinner, winner of the 1999 Smoke Glacken Stakes at Monmouth Park... Conditioned 2005 New England Horse of the Year Ask Queenie, winner of four stakes races in 2005. Ask Queenie was also named the region's top turf horse and top New England-bred that year Won seven races at Suffolk Downs in 2007, including four stakes with Ask Queenie.

Wayne Marcoux
Marcoux is a native of Rhode Island who started his racing career working for his father, who also trained horses on the New England circuit Won his first career race in the 1980s at Suffolk Downs Best horses include Tip the Scale, who won the 2001 Older Filly or Mare Award from the New England Turf Writers, as well as Cox's Sweep and Catch Kara...In 2009, he won 18 races.

Brenda McCarthy
Horses have been a lifelong passion for McCarthy. Some of her fondest memories go back to her childhood, when she remembers riding horses on Ipswich Beach for Pam Berry. She took out her training license in 1982 and has competed up and down the East Coast since, winning seven stakes races in her career. Her stakes-winning horses have been Joanne's Joy, Red's Happy, More Balloons, Lacuna, Manticore and Noski. McCarthy credits much of her success to Thomas Keating, a longtime owner. McCarthy continues to exercise horses and she can be seen galloping many of her horses in the morninge. In 2009, she finished fourth in the trainer standings with 31 victories. She had a successful winter training at Tampa Bay.

Tom McCooey Jr.
McCooey has been around horses for most of his life, riding horses as a kid and working with them in the summers while he attended the University of Rhode Island. He was a groom and hotwalker at both Lincoln Downs and at Foxboro, working with both thoroughbreds and standardbreds. After graduating from college, he decided to spend a year at the racetrack while considering law school. He soon realized that racing would be his career. He began training in 1972, recording his first victory at Lincoln with Road Actress. In addition to competing on the New England circuit, McCooey was stabled at Colonial Downs in Virginia when it reopened in 1997, spent five summers at Monmouth Park, five winters in Maryland and has most recently wintered at Tampa Bay Downs Has trained five stakes winners in his career, including 1997 champion New England sprinter Daring David, and Auntie Millie, winner of the 2005 Amelia Peabody Stakes at Suffolk Trained the 2007 New England champion juvenile colt, Beijing House. Had 15 winners during the 2009 meet and spent the winter training at Tampa.

Leona McKanas
Trainer Leona McKanas is a rising star on the New England circuit. She began her involvement in thoroughbred racing as an owner in the late 1990s with trainers Ernie Lowe and David Savary. During that time, she was at the track every day and learned many aspects of conditioning racehorses and running a stable. She took out her trainer's license in 2002 and has been a consistent presence at Suffolk Downs ever since. Racing is important to her entire family and they are very much involved at the barn on a daily basis McKanas conditioned Island Melody, winner of the 2003 My Fair Lady Stakes. Won three races at Suffolk in 2008.

Bobby Raymond
Raymond, a Rhode Island native, is a veteran trainer on the New England scene. He originally attended blacksmith school in Oklahoma before switching careers to become a thoroughbred trainer. Raymond has a farm in Rhode Island where he operates in many aspects of the game, including breeding of his sire Wee Thunder...A perennial top ten trainer at Suffolk Downs this decade, Raymond finished in sixth with 27 wins. He spent the winter training at Tampa.

John Rigattieri
Rigattieri is the four-time reigning training champion at Suffolk Downs. Last season he saddled 64 winners, 16 more than the runner-up in the standings. He topped all trainers with 93 wins in both 2004 and 2005 and won 83 races in 2006. The lifelong New Englander guides the New England division of the powerful Monarch Stables, which has led the local owner standings two of the last four seasons He began his career in racing as a teenager, serving as a hot walker under the direction of Lucien Laurin at Belmont Park. Laurin is a horseman of legendary stature, having trained Triple Crown winner Secretariat as well as Kentucky Derby and MassCap winner Riva Ridge. Rigattieri won his first training title at Rockingham Park in 1989 and has been a top 10 trainer in New England ever since...Won consecutive Gerry Sullivan Awards as New England Trainer of the Year in 2004 and 2005... earned his sixth consecutive leading trainer title in 2009 with 58 wins.

Rafael Ramos
Ramos began his career in racing as a groom in his native Dominican Republic. After a brief stint as a jockey, he began training in 1967. Ramos won with his very first starter Miss Tex Chum at Perla Antillana racetrack in the D.R., where he enjoyed great success. He earned several leading trainer honors at both Perla Antillana and Quinto Centenario racetracks Ramos jumped into the spotlight at Suffolk Downs in 2007, saddling 48 winners from 182 starters for an outstanding win percentage of 26.4. His 48 wins were second among all trainers at Suffolk Downs. He was voted winner of the Gerry Sullivan Memorial Award by the New England Turf Writers Association for his highly successful 2007 season...and was honored again both in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, he campaigned two-time New England champion older mare Nijinsky Bullet to Horse of the Year honours. In 2009, he finished second in the trainer standings with 50 wins and had the highest win percentage among the top ten trainers at 24%.

George Saccardo
George Saccardo began his career in the mid-70s as a groom and assistant for his father, long-time New England horseman Roger. After ten years, he branched out on his own and first began training primarily for his family, then began to take on outside clients. He quickly gained a reputation for his success with bringing along young horses and has campaigned New England champions Pirate's Loot, Three and Two and What a Trippi, along with other local stars such as Shower of Silver, Southern Joe and Gingerbread Girl. He has trained at tracks throughout the East Coast including Aqueduct and Laurel and prides himself on having a well-maintained medium size stable. In 2009, he had eleven winners and spent the winter training at Aqueduct.

Frank Shannon
Shannon got interested in racing by attending the tracks in Ohio and the Midwest, where his Father owned horses. He came to New England after working in the Midwest in the mid-1960s, starting off at Green Mountain and Narragansett. Shannon has won nine stakes races in his career, almost 500 races and earnings of more than $3.7 million He started training for powerful owner John Murphy recently and the two have done very well together, teaming up to win the Miss Indy Anna Stakes (Quick Smoke) and Amelia Peabody Stakes (Branded in Gold) at Suffolk Downs in 2004...Won three races at Suffolk Downs in 2007. Trained on the Maryland circuit over the winter.

Bill Sienkewicz
Sienkewicz began in the show horse business in 1971 before transitioning to the racehorse business in 1976, when he began working with thoroughbreds that were laying up off the racetrack. He took out his trainer's license in 1977 and conditioned a few horses at the racetrack over the years, but his primary focus was getting horses fit on the farm and back to the racetrack... Sienkewicz has been doing business with trainer Ned Allard in some capacity for over 30 years and many of his runners are transplanted horses from Allard’s base in the mid-Atlantic region... Sienkewicz returned to the racetrack on a full-time basis four years ago and he currently keeps a barn of between 15-20 horses, including Western Tease, a horse that has won the first five starts of his career and is currently competing in the allowance ranks at Suffolk Downs... Sienkewicz trains for a wide variety of clients, including the locally based partnership Charles River Racing.

Gerry Souto
Born and raised in New England, Souto began training in 1972 at Rockingham Park. He won training titles at Rockingham in 1972, 1976 and 1996 in addition to winning the title at Suffolk for the 1978 Spring/Summer meeting. Souto conditioned New England champion Second Episode, a fifteen-time winner against Massachusetts-bred stakes competition. Souto has won over 1000 races in his career...Won 10 at Suffolk Downs in 2009.

Marcus Vitali
Vitali's family owned the trailer parks near Narragansett Park when he was a child and his father had horses there with trainer Eddie"Flash" Vashey, sparking Vitali's interest in racing. Vitali worked his way up with Vashey and even spent time as a jockey as a teenager before getting too big to ride. Vitali has trained in Canada and New York, but has always called New England his home base...Vitali credits the Carney family and all his owners, jockey Tammi Piermarini and a good, hard-working staff for much of his success Finished third in the 2009 standings with 40 wins. Spent the winter training at Gulfstream Park.