Jaime Torres resumes riding after serving suspension

The 25-year-old jockey Jaime Torres came out of the Fair Grounds meet full of momentum.

The leading apprentice rider in New York during 2023 with 37 winners, Torres lost his five-pound apprentice allowance last October. He moved his tack to Kentucky, picked up a new agent, Liz Morris, and between September and November went 4 for 69 at Keeneland and Churchill Downs.

But at Fair Grounds, Torres and Morris hit a rhythm. Torres ended the meet with 42 winners, the fifth-highest total in the colony, and from Feb. 1 to meet’s end on March 24, Torres was third-leading rider with 23 wins. But before he could settle in again at Keeneland and Churchill, Torres had to serve a 14-day suspension.

The New York State Gaming Board on March 25 upheld a suspension handed down for one of Torres’ rides in April 2023 at Aqueduct. Disqualified from first to second for causing interference, Torres was given a penalty so steep that a large group of New York riders filed a protest on his behalf.

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Torres returns to action on the Friday card at Keeneland. A Puerto Rico native whose family has no racing background, Torres never had sat on a horse’s back until he went to jockey’s school at age 22. He came to Florida in 2022 and worked as an exercise rider for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. before taking out his jockey’s license, riding briefly at Gulfstream Park, then landing in New York, where Hall of Famer Angel Cordero was his agent and mentor.

“I just want to ride with the best and learn from the best,” Torres said when asked what he thought his chances were to catch on in Kentucky. “If you work hard, a lot of people are going to give you some chances.”

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