Leparoux among finalists for George Woolf Award

Two-time Eclipse Award winner Julien Leparoux and accomplished veteran riders Joe Bravo, Kerwin Clark, John Davila Jr., and Scott Stevens are the finalists for the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, it was announced on Thursday by Santa Anita, which has presented the award annually since 1950.

The Woolf Award honors achievements by a jockey both on and off the track. It is named for the late Hall of Fame rider who died in a racing accident at Santa Anita in 1946. The winner will be announced in February. The winner is determined by a vote of the riders’ peers - members of the Jockeys’ Guild - making it among the most-coveted awards of the profession.

Leparoux, 35, was the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice in 2006, and followed that up by being named champion rider of 2009. He has won 2,569 races, including seven Breeders’ Cup races and the 2016 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot aboard Tepin. He is an 11-time champion jockey at Keeneland. Leparoux is currently riding at Gulfstream Park.

Bravo, 47 - nicknamed Jersey Joe for his domination at Monmouth Park, where he owns 13 titles, and at the Meadowlands, where he has won nine titles - has won 5,325 races and is one of just 34 riders with more than 5,000 wins in North America. He is currently riding at Fair Grounds.

Clark, 59, won the 2015 Kentucky Oaks on Lovely Maria, the biggest win of the 3,093 he has amassed during his career. He is currently based at Delta Downs in his native Louisiana.

Davila, 54, is a native of Puerto Rico who is the all-time leading rider at Finger Lakes, where he has won 14 titles. He has won 4,018 races during his career, all but 47 of them at Finger Lakes.

The highly respected Stevens, 57, has won 4,842 races and has battled back from numerous serious injuries during his four-decade career. He is the older brother and mentor of recently retired Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens. Scott Stevens is currently riding at Turf Paradise, where he has won eight titles. He is a member of the Hall of Fame at both Canterbury Park – where he rides in the summer – and in his native Idaho, where, like his younger brother, he began his career at Les Bois Park.