Amoss Tops Indiana Grand Trainers; Juan Saez Honored as Leading Apprentice
From left, Jon Schuster, vice president and general manager of racing, Rachel McLaughlin, on-air racing analyst, and Kevin Greely, director of racing, present the 2014 Leading Trainer award to Shane Jolivette, representing the Tom Amoss Stable.
Tom Amoss was once again hard to catch, topping the trainer standings for the fourth straight year to earn Leading Trainer honors for the 2014 racing season. Horses from the Amoss Stable picked up 59 wins during the 120-day meet with purse earnings in excess of $1.2 million.
A native of Louisiana, Amoss has built up a stable that is competitive in the national ranks each year. He is currently ranked ninth in wins for 2014 among all trainers. His fourth title at Indiana Grand is added to numerous titles from other tracks, including Hoosier Park, Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, Kentucky Downs and Fair Grounds.
Amoss celebrated his 3,000th career win at Indiana Grand earlier this year. The Louisiana State University graduate is also an inductee into the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame.
Amoss established new records for Indiana Grand in 2013, winning 81 races as most wins in one meet and pulling in purse earnings of more than $1.5 million as most purse earnings in one season. Amoss now has 230 career wins at Indiana Grand to rank second on the list of all-time leading trainers. Gary Patrick has the most training wins at 241.
Accepting the Leading Trainer Award on behalf of the Amoss Stable was longtime assistant trainer Shane Jolivette, who oversees the string of horses at Indiana Grand each season. Jolivette will relocate to Delta Downs for the winter months before heading back to Indiana in the spring.
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Marvin Johnson finished in second place with 41 wins while Gary Patrick earned third place honors with 33 wins.
In addition to Amoss as top trainer, Cindy Patrick was presented with the Leading Owner title, which was the first time she had achieved the honor. Patrick, a former jockey, joins her husband, Gary, and her daughter, Cheyanna, as a family owned and operated business. Horses owned by Patrick won 33 races during the meet for a total of more than $707,000 in purse earnings. In addition to her work on the racetrack, Patrick also competes on the National Barrel Horse Association circuit each year and won the 2013 title in the Indiana State Open Championship division.
Fernando De La Cruz was also a first time winner in 2014, earning the Leading Jockey title by 27 wins over last year’s winner, Malcolm Franklin. De La Cruz put together a season that earned him 129 wins and purse earnings in excess of $2.8 million. The native of Peru adds his title from Indiana Grand to a previous title recorded at Hoosier Park. He earned his 1,000th career win in late 2013 at Tampa Bay Downs since arriving in the United State to ride in 2007.
Leading Horse of 2014 honors went to Our Valid Twirl from the Tim Glyshaw Stable. The five-year-old mare won five of 11 starts during the season with purses in excess of $139,000. Our Valid Twirl was equaled in wins by Buster Rose, but turned in more second place finishes, grabbing two seconds and one third. The daughter of Goods is owned by Jonathan Liberto.
The Leading Apprentice Award was presented to Juan Saez and accepted by the entire jockey colony at Indiana Grand. Following the second race, all riders were present to honor and celebrate the success of Saez at the track. He earned 22 wins in 95 starts with purse earnings of $563,121. He finished 12th in the leading jockey standings and was leading rider at Ellis Park. His biggest career win was recorded in the $85,000-added Hoosier Breeders’ Sophomore Stakes aboard Mister Pollard during Indiana Derby Night.
Marcelino Pedroza and Albin Jiminez accepted the award on behalf of their friend and fellow Panamanian jockey.
