Hazlewood set to move to Ellis with plenty of mounts from Ward
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Soon after losing his weight allowance on June 29, apprentice jockey Yedsit Hazlewood will move out of the Mid-Atlantic region to take mounts at Ellis Park this summer. It will mark a major turning point in the 18-year-old Panamanian rider’s career, one in which he has already attained incredible success.
“Being a professional, after what I have done all the way to here, it’s just about concentrating to improve, knowing that now the competition is going to be at another level,” Hazlewood said.
In March 2025, Hazlewood made his North American debut at Laurel Park for trainer Jose Corrales, who arranged for the young rider to travel to Maryland to begin his career.
“He’s going through a lot of things in life, where he came from and what he’s done to make it,” Corrales said. “He’s going to be a man that takes care of his family. I think he’s going to have a good future.”
Corrales, a former jockey who raced around the United States and Macau, has gained a reputation as a mentor for young riders, working closely with trainer Wesley Ward to propel their careers forward.
Corrales and Ward met at Belmont Park in early 1984, when Ward was awaiting his license and Corrales was an exercise rider. Ward, who won the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice that year, gave Corrales the opportunity to kickstart his career as a jockey with his father, trainer Dennis Ward, in Washington.
As trainers, their work together has been defined by giving younger riders those same opportunities, and Ward said he intends to give Hazlewood mounts soon after racing at Ellis begins on July 2.
“It’s been a long-anticipated wait for him to come to Kentucky,” Ward said. “He’s been wanting to come. I’ve been wanting him to come. We’re real excited to get that boy into this circuit and riding for us.”
Before Hazlewood, Corrales assisted his nephews, Elvis Trujillo and Gerardo Corrales, as well as Walter Rodriguez, in a similar manner. They were all instructed by the trainer early in their careers, and after a time, Corrales made calls to Ward in search of mounts. All three riders came to be represented by Cliff Collier, who will be Hazlewood’s agent when he moves to Ellis.
“The greatest guy in the world is this guy, Cliff Collier,” Ward said. “Just the most genuine person you’d ever want to meet. His wife is a first grade teacher and she taught my children down in Florida. They’re such a wonderful people. I’m so excited that [he and Hazlewood] are going to be off and going.”
John DiNatale, Hazlewood’s agent in the Mid-Atlantic, has helped oversee his transition to Kentucky. In a little more than a year working with Hazlewood, DiNatale had no trouble finding mounts for the young rider, who dominated racing at Laurel and led the standings in four separate meets since September last year. He also won a riding title at Timonium last summer.
“I would like to say it was a great experience and challenge for me the past year, representing Yedsit, getting him started and watching him soar like a rocket,” DiNatale said.
“He is a very special young man and an extremely talented rider at 18 years of age. I wish him all the best and I will be his biggest fan as he continues his journey.”
DiNatale confirmed that Hazlewood will ride with a five-pound allowance for the last time on Sunday. The jockey was granted additional time as an apprentice due to an injury he suffered in a car accident last June, which cost him most of that summer.
That time off also likely cost Hazlewood the 2025 Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice, which he lost to Pietro Moran. Corrales said he hopes the jockey’s work as an apprentice in 2026 will be enough to win the award this year.
As of Wednesday morning, Hazlewood had 176 wins in 730 starts this year for more than $5.5 million in purse money. On June 13, he earned the biggest score of his career when he and the 3-year-old colt Big Cuddle surged home to win the $300,000 Delaware Derby, yet another successful collaboration with trainer Gary Capuano. He also has forged meaningful connections with trainers Jamie Ness and Hugh McMahon, with Ness calling him one of the best apprentices he had ever seen late last year.
To hear Corrales describe it, Hazlewood’s ability transcends his age or experience, touching on a more natural gift and putting him on a trajectory that could someday reach the heights of riders like Irad and Jose Ortiz.
“I always mention to him that he’s got to look at the Ortiz brothers,” Corrales said. “There aren’t too many riders who become a good apprentice and keep going like they have. You follow that path, you know where you’re going to be.”
With backing from Ward and a sterling résumé in Maryland, Hazlewood will take the next step forward in Kentucky, having learned a great deal in a short time so far.
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