News Americas, New York, NY, Sun. May 19, 2024: Caribbean-born jockey Jaime Torres made history at the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, securing a remarkable win aboard Seize the Grey just two years after he began his riding career.
The Puerto Rico native had previously guided Seize the Grey to victory in the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 4 at Churchill Downs. Despite never having ridden in a Triple Crown race before, Torres now boasts a perfect record of 1 for 1. On May 18, he took the lead at the start of the race in Baltimore before a crowd of around 17,000 spectators and maintained his position throughout. He completed the 1 3/16 miles on a muddy track in 1:56.82, paying $21.60 for the win.
Seize the Grey, owned by the MyRacehorse microshare partnership of over 2,700 people, was bred in Kentucky by Jamm, LTD, and purchased by MyRacehorse for $300,000 from Mill Ridge Sales at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale in 2022.
Torres decided to pursue a career as a jockey in 2019 after watching horse racing on television from Hipódromo Camarero. The next day, he went to the track and eventually enrolled in Puerto Rico’s riding school. He then moved to Florida, working for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., and won his first race on September 17, 2022, at Gulfstream Park on Takestwotowiggle. The following year, he was the leading apprentice in New York. Now, in his first attempt, he has become a Triple Crown race-winning jockey.
“I haven’t rested since then,” the 25-year-old Torres said. “I’ve been working very hard, very hard, not thinking about what’s going to happen but working for it. You can’t think like, ‘Oh, that’s going to happen.’ You’ve just got to work and work, and it will come.”
Adding to the significance of his accomplishment, Torres’ parents flew to Baltimore to surprise him and celebrate his victory.
Eighty-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas praised Torres, sharing that he used to live and is still close friends with the legendary Puerto Rican jockey Angel Cordero, who won the Derby three times, the Preakness twice, and the Belmont Stakes once.
“If you can just follow in his footsteps with his desire and so forth, you’re going to be just fine,” Lukas advised.
Reflecting on Seize the Grey, Torres said, “He’s such an amazing horse. He just relaxed for me, and he felt the other horses coming close and he was just looking at them. As soon as I asked, I had a lot of horse. From the quarter to the wire, he gave me everything.”
