The Lamberts, father and son, both running horses at Ruidoso on Father's Day

Casey Lambert and his father, Cliff Lambert, are in a tight race for the Thoroughbred training title at Ruidoso Downs. The Lamberts have followed identical career paths in racing, competing as jockeys before turning to training. Both will be active at the New Mexico track on Father’s Day.

Casey Lambert, 53, leads the standings with a 7-for-31 record through Thursday and will saddle Wilmas Irish Rover in the $30,000 Ruidoso Sprint Handicap. Cliff Lambert, 82, ranks third in the standings with a 5-for-12 record and will send out Eyesa Flashy Jess in the sixth race Sunday.

Casey Lambert, a native of New Mexico, won more than 3,000 races as a jockey before retiring from the saddle in 2015. His mounts earned more than $39 million and his more than 200 stakes wins include the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park aboard Heritage of Gold.

Cliff Lambert, a native of Kansas, won the inaugural All American Futurity as a jockey, taking the Quarter Horse classic aboard Galobar in 1959. He retired from the saddle in the early 1960s – before Casey was born – and has since trained a long list of stakes winners in the region. They include Bold Ego, who at 3 shipped to trainer Jack Van Berg and won the Arkansas Derby and finished third in the Preakness, and Shame On Powers, the winner of last month’s $60,000 C.O. Ken Kendrick Memorial at SunRay Park who has since qualified for the $157,000 Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso.

Casey Lambert has about 50 horses in training in New Mexico, with more than 40 at Ruidoso and others bound for the Downs at Albuquerque meet that opens June 28. Cliff Lambert has about 20 horses in his care at Ruidoso, with both stables primarily made up of Thoroughbreds. Casey Lambert and Cliff Lambert are stabled a few barns apart at Ruidoso.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Casey Lambert said of training alongside his father. “I didn’t know I would enjoy training this much. I’ve said before that I wish I would have paid more attention all those years, riding for him and being around the barn. He’s forgot a lot more than the majority of us know. I still try and soak it up.”

Horsemanship is just one of the many racing lessons Cliff Lambert – who still trains from atop a pony – has taught his son through the years.

“I grew up around it and when I was 14 I started galloping for him and as soon as I turned 16 I started riding,” Casey Lambert said. “I would say probably the best thing I took away was to have a good work ethic – to get up every day and try to do your best and not make any excuses. He always expected more from us. It was a good lesson. Later on, I was glad I grew up around that.”

Casey Lambert’s stable is becoming a force in New Mexico, as he started with just six horses when he launched his training career three years ago at Ruidoso. His clients include Champion Racing Stable, Tom Durant, and Johnny Trotter. In the Ruidoso Sprint ,he has a top contender in Wilmas Irish Rover. The horse is shortening up a tad off a six furlong allowance win May 19.

“It’s a little shorter than he wants to go, [but] he’s pretty sharp right now,” said Casey Lambert.