Churchill Downs: Rocco flourishes since becoming Kentucky regular

It was slightly more than a year ago that Joe Rocco Jr. asked, “Why not?” His business on the East Coast was good, but not great, and trainer Michael Matz had asked him to come ride some horses for him at the 2012 Keeneland fall meet.

His decision to follow through has dramatically altered his riding career for the better. Rocco, with Lenny Pike Jr. as his agent, has established highs and firsts in a number of important categories, and as the onset of his second year on a new circuit continues Sunday with the opening of the Churchill Downs fall meet in Louisville, Ky., Rocco is in a very good place in life.

“I’m extremely happy with how this year has gone,” said Rocco, 31. “My family and I are really happy with our lives. It’s really nice.”

Rocco, who began riding in 1999 at age 16, won the first two Grade 1 races of his career this year, both in New York. His nine graded victories in 2013 (which doesn’t include a Grade 1 Arabian race at Churchill) is nearly double his total from the previous 14 years combined (5 wins). And with more than two months still to go in 2013, his mount earnings of nearly $5.4 million already have surpassed his former high of $4.6 million from last year.

Rocco is extremely well versed in All Things Racetrack, having never left after being born at the proverbial quarter pole. His father, Joe Rocco Sr., won 3,711 races during a yeoman’s career that ended in 2011 with a serious neck injury; the elder Rocco grew up in Brooklyn and just happened to get into racing when his father had him go to work at age 16 as a hot-walker at Belmont Park for Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens. His mother, Debra, is the daughter of a trainer (Baden Hughes); his wife, Jamie, is the daughter of a trainer (Lonnie Arterburn) and a horsewoman in her own right; and his three younger sisters all have close racetrack affiliations as well.

Despite his years of experience in Delaware, Maryland, Florida, and elsewhere in the eastern U.S., Rocco came to Kentucky a relative unknown to both horsemen and fans but has made great inroads in the last year. Essentially following a circuit of Gulfstream Park in the winter, Kentucky in the spring and fall, and Saratoga in the summer, his day-to-day business has steadily improved while his national profile has risen substantially with such major victories as the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Tiz Miz Sue at Belmont in May and the Grade 1 Prioress on Lighthouse Bay at Saratoga in July.

Steve Hobby, a mainstay of Midwest circuits for nearly 30 years, trained Tiz Miz Sue before the mare was forced into retirement recently with a minor injury.

“The number one thing about Joe is he’s smart,” said Hobby. “He’ll study the Form beforehand and he pays attention to what’s going on. He’s very patient, which is another great quality, and plus he’s a horseman. He knows what goes on at the barn and shows a lot of respect for the people who work there. He’s just an all-around good fellow.”

Pike, who worked for nearly two decades for Robby Albarado and the last couple of years for Shaun Bridgmohan, has a solid rapport with horsemen not only in Kentucky, Chicago, and New Orleans, but on a national scale as well. After Churchill ends Nov. 30, this will be Pike’s first full winter in Florida, but he and Rocco are very optimistic they will fare well at Gulf before returning to Keeneland in April with a healthy amount of business to continue forward.

“There’s a lot of Kentucky business down there,” noted Rocco.

While riding on a daily basis against such talented jockeys as Rosie Napravnik, Albarado, Bridgmohan, Corey Lanerie, Calvin Borel, and others, the progress Rocco has made on his new circuit in such a relatively short period has been impressive indeed. He and Jamie have moved with their two young sons to Louisville and are intending to dig in some roots.

“My wife and kids and I really enjoy the way of life here in Kentucky,” he said. “We’re glad with the way it’s all working out.”