Jockey Zimmerman seeks help to fight drug problem
Jockey Ramsey Zimmerman, who hasn’t ridden since Jan. 16, apparently is having issues again with substance abuse. According to a Tuesday post on his Facebook page, Zimmerman sought treatment recently from the Opiate Recovery Center Associates (ORCA) program in Ocala, Fla.
Zimmerman’s agent, Gil Graell, said Friday he had not heard from the jockey for a while and that he did not expect Zimmerman to be riding anytime soon. The Gulfstream stewards said they are not aware of what is going on with the jockey.
Zimmerman, 33, has been dogged by drug problems for much of a riding career that began in 1998. He has won 1,722 career races and was second to Edgard Zayas at the 2014 summer-fall Gulfstream meet with 56 wins.
Rider gets first U.S. win
Dick Cardenas, a former leading jockey in Jamaica, won for the first time in the United States when he guided Red Pond to a 5 1/2-length victory in the fourth race here Wednesday.
Cardenas, 30, is a native of Panama and has ridden for about eight years. In 2011, he led all riders in Jamaica with 103 wins. He said he intends to continue riding indefinitely on the south Florida circuit.
Prolific mare keeps winning
Courtney Ryan, whose 10 wins in 2014 was tops among all female runners in North America, got started on another good year by winning the fifth race here Wednesday.
Trained by Tamara Levy for IAB Stables, Courtney Ryan is a 6-year-old Florida-bred who has competed mostly in starter-allowance races. From 16 starts last year, she won 10 times, one more than Gettem Up Girl in the filly-and-mare category.
J L’s Princess avoids injury
Dave Kassen feared the worst when J L’s Princess, owned in part by football great Paul Hornung, didn’t return to the winner’s circle after rallying to capture the Wednesday finale. Jockey Jonathan Gonzales dismounted on the gallop-out, and the mare was vanned off.
“I thought she’d broken her cannon bone,” said Kassen. “But nothing was wrong. We took an X-ray [Thursday] morning, and she’s fine, thank goodness. I guess she just took a bad step.”