Santa Anita names finalists for George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

ARCADIA, Calif. – Veteran riders Alex Birzer, Jorge Martin Bourdieu, Kendrick Carmouche, Aaron Gryder, and Deshawn Parker, who collectively have won more than 17,500 races, are the finalists for the 2021 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, it was announced Tuesday by Santa Anita, where the award has been presented annually since 1950.

The Woolf Award is named for George Woolf, the Hall of Fame rider who was killed in a riding accident at Santa Anita in 1946. He is best known for riding Seabiscuit to victory against War Admiral in their celebrated match race in the Pimlico Special in 1938, but he won scores of major races, including the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap in 1935

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

The award, which can only be won once, is voted on by the riders’ peers to recognize ontrack achievements and personal character. It is awarded during the main winter meeting at Santa Anita, which begins Saturday. The winner will be announced in February, according to a press release.

Birzer, 47, has won the riding title at Prairie Meadows five times and before that was a four-time leader at The Woodlands. He is currently riding at Delta Downs, and rides regularly at Oaklawn Park, Prairie Meadows, and Remington Park. Birzer has won 3,399 races through racing of Monday night. His younger brother Gary was paralyzed in a racing accident at Mountaineer in 2004.

Bourdieu, 46, a native of Argentina, has ridden Arabians, Quarter Horses, and Thoroughbreds during a career largely in the West and Southwest. He rides regularly at tracks like Arapahoe, Sunland Park, Turf Paradise, and Zia Park, but has not ridden since Sept. 11, when his mount fell after finishing a race at Albuquerque. He has won 1,597 Thoroughbred races.

Carmouche, 36, won the first Grade 1 of his career earlier this month in the Cigar Mile with True Timber, continuing his ascension among East Coast-based riders. Now a regular in New York, Carmouche first gained significant attention by leading the standings at Parx for four straight years, from 2008-2011. He has won 3,328 races, including the Grade 2 Marathon at Santa Anita on Breeders’ Cup weekend 2016.

Gryder, 50, is a native of Southern California but has ridden all over the world, currently in Dubai, where his son, a Marine, is stationed. Gryder, who won a riding title at the fall Hollywood Park meeting as an apprentice in 1987, also has led the standings at Aqueduct, Arlington, Churchill Downs, and Golden Gate. He has won more than 3,900 races, including the 2009 Dubai World Cup with Well Armed, and both the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Marathon and 2013 Brooklyn Handicap with Calidoscopio. Gryder also has had parts in television shows like “The Sopranos,” and has done extensive television work on racing broadcasts.

Parker, who will be 50 in two weeks, has won 5,827 races, and in both 2010 and 2011 led all riders in annual victories. He is having another outstanding year. His mounts this year have earned more than $4.3 million, less than $200,000 shy of his personal best in a year impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Parker has won riding titles at Indiana Grand, Mountaineer, and Sam Houston, and is currently riding at Turfway Park.