Lauzon to receive Gomez Award

Jockey Jack Lauzon, whose career highlights included Queen's Plate wins with Regal Intention in 1988 and Basqueian in 1994, will be this year's recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award.

The Gomez Award honors a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or has competed regularly in the country for more than five years and who has made significant contributions to the sport.

The honor is in memory of Avelino Gomez, a Woodbine institution who died of complications after a three-horse spill in the 1980 Canadian Oaks.

Lauzon, 46, started riding in 1981 and retired this year to be a jockey's agent at Woodbine. He won 1,619 races and 72 stakes. His career was interrupted for 2 1/2 years after he was involved in a spill in Macau that left him temporarily paralyzed from the chest down in 1996.

Previous Gomez Award winners include Ron Turcotte, John Longden, Sandy Hawley, and Don MacBeth.