HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Apprentice jockey Tyler Bacon will have the most significant mount of his career Saturday when he rides American Promise in the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. And the 17-year-old is ready for the opportunity, according to American Promise’s trainer, D. Wayne Lukas. “I started watching him here at Oaklawn and I was very impressed with him, what I saw on the racetrack, and equally impressed with the way he handles himself off the racetrack,” Lukas said. “He’s very articulate, very easy to deal with, listens very well. “If I can help him, I’m going to help him because he’s the right kind. If we get beat, I don’t think it will be him.” Bacon was aboard American Promise for a two-turn maiden special weight win at Oaklawn that earned the son of Justify a Beyer Speed Figure of 95. Bacon was thrilled when he learned Lukas would retain him for the Southwest. “I really didn’t think he was going to keep me on the horse because there’s a lot of veteran riders here,” he said. “I’m really glad he kept me on the horse. It’s an honor to ride for him.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Bacon, who ranks fifth in the overall standings with 11 wins from 93 mounts, is a native of Billings, Mont. His father, Zachary Bacon Sr., rode races in North Dakota and South Dakota, his son said. But that’s only part of Bacon’s unique background in racing. “I really have been around horses my whole life because my family did horse racing, mostly Indian relay, though,” he said. “It’s kind of like horse racing. My family was into that. My uncle had a relay team. I was with him, helping him out. I did the pony relays, the little Shetlands, when I was a kid.” Bacon said he did not ride in the “adult” Indian relay races. They call for three horses that a single rider guides around the track bareback, dismounting each at a full gallop and mounting the next one to complete the race. “It’s a little too crazy for me,” he said. Bacon said he instead did “gate racing,” or traditional horse racing. “They have little fair races back home where I’m from, they do horse racing out the gates,” he said. “My uncle put me on some races coming out of the gates, and I won my first one at 14 and ever since then I’ve been riding gate races, and I love to do it. It’s my favorite thing ever.” Bacon said he got his license a few days after he turned 16 and rode his first official races at Columbus, Neb. He then went to Fonner Park and Prairie Meadows before coming to Oaklawn. American Promise is one of several winners he has had at the meet for Lukas. The maiden win was a breakthrough race for the 3-year-old. ]“I just tried to get him out of the gate and put him in the position Lukas wanted him to be in,” Bacon said. “He did everything he was supposed to. “He’s a big horse, really laid back, probably one of the nicest horses I’ve ever been on. He just does everything right. Going to the track he’s all class. I really like the horse.” Bacon has his apprentice allowance until late in the meet at Oaklawn. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.