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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Laffit Pincay)

Laffit Pincay Jr.
Pincay in 1972
Personal information
BornLaffit Alejandro Pincay Jr.
(1946-12-29) December 29, 1946 (age 79)
Panama City, Panama
OccupationJockey
Horse racing career
SportHorse racing
Career wins9,530
Major racing wins
San Bernardino Handicap (1967, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1985, 1989)

Santa Anita Derby (1968, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985)
Los Angeles Handicap (1968, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1989, 1997)
Santa Barbara Handicap (1968, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1993)
Hollywood Gold Cup (1970, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1986, 2001, 2002)
Santa Anita Handicap (1971, 1973, 1979, 1981, 1985)
Blue Grass Stakes (1974, 2001)
Florida Derby (1974, 1984)
Whitney Handicap (1974)
Hawthorne Handicap (1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990)
Bing Crosby Handicap (1976, 1977, 1983)
Del Mar Debutante Stakes (1976, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Del Mar Futurity (1976, 1983, 1985, 1987)
Rancho Bernardo Handicap (1976, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2000)
San Diego Handicap (1976, 1986, 1987, 1992)
Sorrento Stakes (1976, 1980, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2000)
Eddie Read Handicap (1978, 1984, 1987, 1991)
Del Mar Derby (1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, 1994)
Jockey Club Gold Cup (1979, 1987)
Woodward Stakes (1979)
Kentucky Oaks (1981)
Del Mar Oaks (1983)
Canadian International Stakes (1984)
Longacres Mile (1984, 1986)
Washington, D.C. International (1987, 1990)
Clement L. Hirsch Handicap (1990, 1992)
Del Mar Handicap (1995, 2001)
U.S. Triple Crown wins:
Kentucky Derby (1984)
Belmont Stakes (1982, 1983, 1984)
Breeders' Cup wins:
Breeders' Cup Juvenile (1985, 1986, 1988)
Breeders' Cup Classic (1986)
Breeders' Cup Distaff (1989, 1990)

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (1993)
Racing awards
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award (1970)

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey (1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1985)
North America's leading jockey by earnings (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1985)
United States Champion Jockey by wins (1971)
Big Sport of Turfdom Award (1985, 2000)
Mike Venezia Memorial Award (1996)

Eclipse Special Award (1999)
Honors
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (1975)

Laffit Pincay Jr. Award
Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes

Pincay Drive, Inglewood, California
Significant horses
Affirmed, Autobiography, Bayakoa, Capote, Caveat, Conquistador Cielo, Cougar II, Desert Vixen, Gamely, Genuine Risk, Is It True, John Henry, Landaluce, Perrault, Phone Chatter, Sham, Skywalker, Susan's Girl, Swale, Tasso

Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. (born December 29, 1946) is a retired Panamanian jockey who rode primarily in the United States. He retired in 2003 with 9,530 career victories and $237,120,625 in purse earnings, both then records for a jockey.[1][2] He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1975.[1]

Pincay won five Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Jockey, led North American jockeys by earnings seven times, and won seven Breeders' Cup races.[1][3] His Triple Crown wins included the 1984 Kentucky Derby on Swale and three consecutive Belmont Stakes victories: Conquistador Cielo in 1982, Caveat in 1983, and Swale in 1984.[1] Much of his career was based in Southern California, where he set career-win records at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita Park, and Del Mar Racetrack.[1]

Early life

[edit]

Pincay was born in Panama City, Panama, on December 29, 1946.[1] His father, Laffit Pincay Sr., was a jockey, and his mother, Rosario, worked as a newspaper distributor.[4] His father rode in Panama and Venezuela.[5][6]

As a child, Pincay played baseball and was a second baseman.[4][6] A youth coach told him when he was twelve that he was a good player but was probably too small to become a professional baseball player, and suggested that he become a jockey like his father.[6] Pincay later said the advice disappointed him at first, but he accepted as a teenager that his size suited race riding.[6] At fifteen, he persuaded his mother to let him pursue riding.[6]

Pincay began riding professionally in Panama. His first winner came on May 19, 1964, aboard Huelen at Hipódromo Presidente Remón.[7] His early record in Panama brought him to the attention of American owner Fred W. Hooper and agent Camilo Marin, who helped arrange his move to the United States.[1][5]

Riding career

[edit]

Move to the United States and rise in California

[edit]

In 1966, Hooper brought Pincay to the United States to ride under contract.[1] Pincay was nineteen when he arrived and began his American career at Arlington Park near Chicago, where he won with eight of his first eleven mounts.[1] His first American winner was Teacher's Art at Arlington Park in 1966.[7]

Pincay later became closely identified with the Southern California circuit. He won riding titles at Arlington and Hawthorne before becoming one of the leading riders at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, and Del Mar.[8] On April 27, 1968, he rode six winners on one card at Hollywood Park.[9]

Pincay received the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1970 and won his first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1971.[3][10] He led North American jockeys by earnings in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, and 1985.[1] In 1973, he became the first jockey to earn more than $4 million in purses in one year.[4]

At Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, and Del Mar combined, Pincay won 637 stakes races. He set career-win records at all three tracks, with 3,049 victories at Hollywood Park, 2,860 at Santa Anita, and 1,011 at Del Mar.[1] He won 16 riding titles at Hollywood Park, 14 at Santa Anita, and five at Del Mar, in addition to titles at Saratoga, Arlington, and Hawthorne.[1]

Major mounts

[edit]

Pincay rode many of the leading American racehorses of his career. Hall of Fame horses he rode included Affirmed, Bayakoa, Cougar II, Desert Vixen, Gamely, Genuine Risk, John Henry, and Susan's Girl.[1] His other major mounts included Autobiography, Sham, Conquistador Cielo, Caveat, Swale, Tasso, Capote, Skywalker, Phone Chatter, Is It True, and Perrault.[1][7]

Pincay rode Sham during most of the colt's 1973 Triple Crown season for owner Sigmund Sommer and trainer Frank "Pancho" Martin. With Pincay aboard, Sham won the Santa Anita Derby and finished second to Secretariat in the 1973 Kentucky Derby and 1973 Preakness Stakes.[11][12]

In 1978, Pincay rode Affirmed in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga while Affirmed's regular rider, Steve Cauthen, was injured. Affirmed finished first but was disqualified and placed second for interference against Alydar, who was declared the winner.[13][14] Pincay later referred to the race when advising his son about recovering from a public mistake.[15] Pincay also rode Affirmed during the horse's four-year-old season. In 1979, they won the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, Woodward Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup.[1][7]

Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup races

[edit]

Pincay's first Triple Crown race win came in the 1982 Belmont Stakes aboard Conquistador Cielo.[1] He won the Belmont again in 1983 with Caveat, then won the 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes with Swale.[1] His Belmont win on Swale was his third consecutive victory in the race.[1]

Swale, trained by Woody Stephens and owned by Claiborne Farm, gave Pincay his only Kentucky Derby win.[16] Before Swale, Pincay had gone winless in ten Kentucky Derby mounts.[15] His first wife, Linda, watched the race from home with their children; Pincay later brought her a rose from Swale's Derby garland.[15] Swale also won the Belmont Stakes and was voted the 1984 American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse.[17]

Pincay never won the Preakness Stakes. His Preakness placings included a second-place finish on Sham in 1973.[12][1]

Pincay won seven Breeders' Cup races. He won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Tasso in 1985, Capote in 1986, and Is It True in 1988; the Breeders' Cup Classic with Skywalker in 1986; the Breeders' Cup Distaff with Bayakoa in 1989 and 1990; and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies with Phone Chatter in 1993.[1]

Career records and retirement

[edit]

Pincay remained active into his fifties. His business declined at points in the late 1990s as some Southern California trainers used younger riders, but he remained competitive during his pursuit of Bill Shoemaker's career wins record.[7] In 1999, at age 52, he won another Hollywood Park riding title.[8]

On December 10, 1999, Pincay rode Irish Nip to victory in the sixth race at Hollywood Park for his 8,834th career win, breaking Shoemaker's record of 8,833.[18] Shoemaker was present for the race.[18] Pincay received a Eclipse Special Award for the achievement.[19]

On October 28, 2000, Pincay became the first jockey to reach 9,000 career wins when he won the California Cup Distaff on Chichim at Santa Anita. He won five stakes races on the same program.[20][7]

Pincay rode his final race in 2003. On March 1, his mount, Trampus Too, clipped heels and fell on Santa Anita's downhill turf course.[21] Pincay sustained fractures to the second cervical vertebra and was placed in a halo cast.[21] Doctors later advised him not to ride again because his spine had not healed sufficiently, and he announced his retirement in April 2003.[7][22] He had hoped to continue riding long enough to reach 10,000 wins.[7]

Pincay's career-win record was surpassed by Russell Baze, who rode his 9,531st winner at Bay Meadows on December 1, 2006.[23] Baze retired with a North American record of 12,842 wins.[24] Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo later surpassed Baze's total.[25]

Riding style and weight discipline

[edit]

Pincay was known for strength, balance, determination, and a strong finish.[1][7] The Los Angeles Times described brute strength as his "calling card" and identified him as one of the strongest jockeys and best finishers of his era.[7] Gary Stevens, who rode against him in California, said Pincay was still one of the most feared riders in the final eighth of a mile late in his career.[7]

Pincay's career required strict weight control. A turning point came in the late 1970s, when he became dissatisfied with his fitness after losing a close race at Del Mar and hired nutritionist Joyce Richards.[4] He then became known for a strict diet and exercise routine that helped him ride into his fifties.[4][7] At retirement, he was listed at 5 feet 1 inch and 113 pounds, or 117 pounds with riding gear.[7]

Before the neck injury that ended his career, Pincay had sustained numerous serious injuries, including broken collarbones, broken ribs, spinal fractures, punctured lungs, and broken thumbs.[26]

Personal life

[edit]

Pincay married Linda Jean Radkovich in 1967. They had two children, Lisa and Laffit III.[27][15] Linda Pincay died by suicide in January 1985, eight months after Pincay's Kentucky Derby victory with Swale.[27][15] Pincay later said that after her death he had to adjust to raising their children while continuing his riding career.[15]

Pincay's son, Laffit Pincay III, became a horse-racing broadcaster. He worked for HRTV beginning in 2003 and later joined NBC Sports' horse-racing coverage.[28][29]

Pincay later married Jeanine Dorn. They had one son, Jean-Laffit.[7][15] By 2014, Pincay and Jeanine were divorced.[15] Pincay has grandchildren through his daughter Lisa.[15]

Legacy and honors

[edit]

Pincay was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1975, at age 28.[1][4] He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, and 1985.[3] He also received the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1970, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award in 1996, and the Big Sport of Turfdom Award in 1985 and 2000.[10][30][31]

In 2003, the city of Inglewood, California, renamed a portion of 90th Street near Hollywood Park as Pincay Drive.[32] In 2004, Hollywood Park created the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award. After Hollywood Park closed, the award moved to Del Mar.[33][34]

Santa Anita honors Pincay with a life-size bust.[6] In 2024, Santa Anita renamed the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes. Pincay won the San Antonio five times, beginning with Rising Market in 1968 and ending with Super Diamond in 1989.[10][35]

Career statistics

[edit]
Career totals
Category Total Source
Starts 48,486 [2][7]
Wins 9,530 [1][2]
Earnings $237,120,625 [1]
Win percentage 19.65% [1]

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart Peak position
National earnings list for jockeys, 2000 13
National earnings list for jockeys, 2001 12
National earnings list for jockeys, 2002 13

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Laffit A. Pincay, Jr". National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jockey Profile: Laffit A. Pincay, Jr". Equibase. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eclipse Awards Records". National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pincay, Laffit Alegando, Jr.". Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: Sports Figures. Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved July 7, 2026 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  5. 1 2 Cain, Madelyn (2008). Laffit: Anatomy of a Winner: The Biography of Laffit Pincay Jr. Pasadena, California: Affirmed Press. ISBN 9780615238210. Retrieved July 7, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pedulla, Tom (November 27, 2017). "Laffit Pincay Jr.: Dedicated to Greatness". America's Best Racing. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Christine, Bill (April 30, 2003). "Calling It a 'Sad Day,' Pincay Hits Finish Line". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Christine, Bill (December 21, 1999). "Pincay Still Riding High With Hollywood Park Title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Hollywood Park to Honor Retired Hall of Famer Pincay". BloodHorse. May 23, 2003. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Santa Anita Renames San Antonio Stakes In Honor Of Laffit Pincay Jr". Paulick Report. November 21, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  11. ↑ Hunter, Avalyn. "Sham". American Classic Pedigrees. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Callahan, Tom (May 2, 1993). "Left in Shambles: Everyone Remembers Secretariat's Great 1973, but What About That Horse He Kept Beating?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  13. ↑ Hovdey, Jay (August 22, 2013). "Affirmed and Alydar's Travers Showdown Still Rouses Emotions". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  14. ↑ "The Race Track". The New Yorker. August 28, 1978. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hovdey, Jay (January 9, 2014). "Spotlight Stays on Pincay Family". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ "ABRelive: 1984 Kentucky Derby with Laffit Pincay Jr". America's Best Racing. April 24, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Swale: Claiborne's Beloved 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes Winner". America's Best Racing. June 2, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Pincay Sets Career Wins Mark". CBS News. Associated Press. December 10, 1999. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Pincay Will Get Special Eclipse Award". Los Angeles Times. January 5, 2000. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Pincay Reaches 9,000 Win Milestone; Wins Five on the Day". BloodHorse. October 28, 2000. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  21. 1 2 Christine, Bill (March 7, 2003). "Pincay's Problems Mount After Spill". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Broken Neck Forces Pincay Into Retirement". ESPN. Associated Press. April 29, 2003. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Baze Becomes Racing's All-Time Leading Rider!". BloodHorse. December 2, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Russell A. Baze". National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  25. ↑ Godfrey, Nicholas (September 27, 2020). "He's Done It! The Incredible Ricardo Hits That 13,000-Winner Mark". Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Pincay Has Broken Neck Bone, Career Could Be Over". ESPN. Associated Press. March 6, 2003. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  27. 1 2 Christine, Bill (January 21, 1985). "Linda Pincay, Wife of Jockey, Dies of Wound". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  28. ↑ Dougherty, Pete (June 5, 2014). "Too Big to Ride, Pincay III Finds Way to Stay in Racing". Times Union. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Get to Know NBC Sports' Laffit Pincay III". America's Best Racing. September 28, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Irad Ortiz, Jr. Named 2025 Venezia Award Winner". New York Racing Association. August 15, 2025. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Pincay Receives Second Big Sport of Turfdom Award". BloodHorse. January 30, 2001. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  32. ↑ "City of Inglewood Renames Street to Honor Pincay". ESPN. Associated Press. December 20, 2003. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Del Mar Gives Laffit Pincay Award New Home". BloodHorse. July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Pincay Award Moves to Del Mar; Will Be Presented July 27". Paulick Report. July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  35. ↑ "'It Means A Lot:' New Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes At Santa Anita Honors Legendary Jockey On Opening Day". Santa Anita Park. December 18, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
[edit]
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