Albarado named Woolf winner

Jockey Robby Albarado, the regular rider of 2003 handicap star Mineshaft, has won the 2004 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, according to a statement issued at Santa Anita this week.

First presented in 1950, the Woolf Award is voted on by jockeys nationwide and honors riders whose careers and personal character are seen as a positive reflection on the sport.

A date for the presentation has not been confirmed, but Albarado is booked to make a rare Southern California appearance to ride Toccet in the Strub Stakes on Feb. 7. Albarado is currently at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, where he is the leading rider. Through Wednesday, Albarado had won 2,832 races in his career.

Albarado has won riding titles at Arlington Park, Fair Grounds, Keeneland, and Oaklawn Park.

Albarado, 30, was one of five jockeys nominated for the Woolf Award along with Gary Baze, Julie Krone, Randal Meier, and Richard Migliore.

The award honors the memory of the late jockey, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill at Santa Anita in 1946.