Vicente Del-Cid has quietly emerged as a leading candidate for the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2022 with a breakout year in Louisiana. Del-Cid through Monday ranked second in wins in North America, tied with Tyler Gaffalione and trailing only Irad Ortiz Jr. Del-Cid, who is a 21-year-old native of Guatemala, has won 203 races from 957 mounts so far this year. He still has about a month left with his five-pound apprentice allowance and will be active at Delta Downs, which opens Oct. 5. It was during the Evangeline Downs meet that ran from April through August that Del-Cid began to gain traction in the North American standings. He won the track’s riding title with 124 wins from 500 mounts. Del-Cid also led all riders in mount earnings with $1.7 million and maintained a 25 percent win clip while facing a slew of seasoned jockeys. “His biggest attribute is his desire to win,” said Louis Coco, the agent for Del-Cid. “He hates losing.” Indeed. Del-Cid has had his head down riding with such focus since his first career win on Oct. 21, 2021, at Delta Downs that he only recently learned where he sits among all riders in North America. “I’m very happy,” Del-Cid said through translator Tito Navarro. “I never thought I’d be in this situation right now.” Horses long have been a part of Del-Cid’s life, but not the racetrack. His background was very different in Guatemala. “I took care of my grandfather’s cattle, and since I was very young, I was on horseback gathering cattle,” Del-Cid said. “I had some knowledge of being on horses.” Del-Cid came to the United States in 2019, joining his father, who was working as an exercise rider at Evangeline. Not long after his arrival, the young Del-Cid began clocking jockeys. “I started paying attention to them,” he said. “I liked how they were on top of horses and said, ‘One day I want to be like them.’ ” Del-Cid groomed horses for two months and proceeded to gallop horses for about two years before he began race riding. He worked for trainers Juan Larossa, Eduardo Ramirez, and Shelton Zenon. During that time, Del-Cid caught the attention of Joel Dominguez, a leading rider in Louisiana. “When I was galloping, Joel would tell me, ‘You look good on a horse. Why don’t you start riding,’ ” Del-Cid said. “He was part of the motivation to ride.” :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Del-Cid already had some physical advantages in his corner, as he said he weighs 95 pounds and stands about 5 feet 4 inches tall. “He has the right size,” said Navarro, who is an assistant trainer to Ramirez. “He’s just bred to be a jockey.” Dominguez took Del-Cid under his wing, and he’s been a key mentor for the young rider. “Joel Dominguez has been a big plus in helping him in a lot of areas,” Coco siad. Del-Cid agreed. He said the seasoned journeyman has “taught me almost everything I know” about race riding. Del-Cid through Monday had won 218 races from 1,137 career starts, for mount earnings of $3.6 million. “The most important thing that Joel taught me is to be patient – where to be and when to move,” Del-Cid said. Del-Cid launched his career during the Delta Downs meet a year ago, and finished sixth in the standings with 42 wins from 400 starts for mount earnings of $1.1 million. For the nine-race Delta opener, he is named on six horses. Del-Cid has been riding for a wide variety of stables. He’s hitting at a 36 percent rate with trainer Keith Bourgeois, with nine wins from 25 mounts for the barn. Del-Cid also has teamed regularly with Ramirez, with 12 wins from 60 starts for the stable. Karl Broberg, who six times has topped the standings in trainer wins in North America, utilized the services of Del-Cid during the Louisiana Downs meet that ended Tuesday. The rider started competing regularly at Louisiana Downs following the close of Evangeline and was fourth in the standings through Monday with 52 wins from 236 mounts at the Bossier City, La., track. “I like that he doesn’t fight a horse,” Broberg said. “He puts them in a good spot, and his results have spoken for themselves. He’s doing something right.” Through Monday, Del-Cid had won 34 races from 118 mounts aboard Broberg trainees. Trainer Chasey Deville-Pomier lauded Del-Cid’s work ethic and said he is a likeable person. She put him on his first stakes winner, Janet Is Ready, in the $60,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies on Aug. 6 at Louisiana Downs. Del-Cid has had 28 mounts for the barn and won with 12 of them, for a 42 percent strike rate with Deville-Pomier. “He’s an easy sell,” Coco said. “People like him. He rides well. He’s a nice kid. And, you get the bonus of getting the five pounds off.” Coco, who has represented such riders as Calvin Borel, Curt Bourque, Eddie Martin, Lonnie Meche, and Diego Saenz, took Del-Cid’s book at the start of Evangeline. He said he’s been impressed with the apprentice’s work ethic and enthusiasm for his path in life. “It’s unbelievable,” Coco said. “I have to stop him from getting on horses in the morning. We’ve had that conversation many times. He can’t get enough of getting on horses.” Del-Cid said for him, it’s all about horses. “The horses are the ones that made me want to ride,” he said of the decision to become a jockey. “Every horse is different.” As for Del-Cid, he was given the nickname “same thing” when he first began galloping horses. Navarro said due to his limited English at the time, Del-Cid only knew to ask trainers if they wanted the “same thing” done with a horse, as far as the length of a gallop. These days, the nickname still fits. Del-Cid keeps doing the “same thing” every afternoon – winning races. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.