TORONTO, Ontario, CMC—Three jockeys with Caribbean ties have been selected for the ballot for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
The active duo of ace Barbadian reinsman Patrick Husbands and Trinidad & Tobago maestro Emile Ramsammy, as well as retired T&T-born jockey Richard Dos Ramos, are under consideration by the 20-member election committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
The Class of 2024’s members will be announced on Wednesday, April 24, and formally inducted during a ceremony on Wednesday, August 7.
Dos Ramos, 62, grew up in Malton, a neighborhood in the city of Mississauga in the province of Ontario after his family emigrated from T&T when he was young.
When he retired 11 years ago, he was the senior member of the jockeys’ colony in terms of years of service at Canada’s main racetrack, Woodbine.
Dos Ramos started his riding career in the spring of 1981 at the decommissioned Greenwood Raceway. That same year, he claimed the jockeys’ title at the autumn meet there and at Woodbine and was named top apprentice jockey for the first of two consecutive years.
During the following decade, two of his finest riding accomplishments came for Hall of Fame owner Steve Stavro and his Hall of Famer trainer Phil England.
Dos Ramos steered Benburb to a huge upset win over A.P. Indy in the Molson Export Million in 1992, as well as a stunning upset in the Prince of Wales, beating Alydeed, and he guided long-shot Thornfield to victory in the CAN $1.5 million Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes seven years later.
Dos Ramos was honored with the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award 22 years ago before winning the Canadian Oaks with Ginger Gold.
The award is a Canadian thoroughbred racing honour given annually to a jockey who has made significant contributions to the sport and is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or has been a regular in the country for more than five years.
It is named for the late Cuba-born Canadian and American Hall of Fame jockey Avelion Gomez, who died in 1980 of complications from injuries sustained in a racing accident.
Dos Ramos won 2 159 races, took 2 242 seconds, took 2 206 thirds, and earned nearly CAN $61 million in purse earnings from 18 645 races during his riding career.
Husbands has become one of the most popular and productive jockeys in Canadian history during his 30-plus years riding at Woodbine.
Before emigrating to Canada in 1994, the 50-year-old had already enjoyed considerable success at the Garrison Savannah in Bridgetown as a champion rider and the youngest jockey to win the prestigious Barbados Gold Cup.
His initial popularity in Canada came among the Barbadian expatriate community, but he quickly grew to universal acceptance with each passing race victory and ensuing championship season.
Between 1999 and 2014, he won eight Sovereign Awards as Canada’s champion jockey and received the Avelino Gomez award for ten years.
One of the most notable achievements for Husbands during his spell in Canada came 21 years ago with his expert handling of Triple Crown winner and Hall of Fame inductee Wando for Hall of Fame owner-trainer combination of the late Gustav Schickendanz and Mike Keogh.
Husband has maintained lofty standards throughout his spectacular career, winning 3 630 times and earning nearly U.S. $180 million in purses.
Ramsammy, 61, began his career as a jockey at the decommissioned Queen’s Park Savannah 44 years ago, and he had more than 500 wins in the Caribbean before he started riding in Canada in 1990.
He was Barbados champion jockey in 1986 and 1989 and won the Barbados Gold Cup three times—aboard Frisky Whark in 1985, Stangrave Park in 1987, and Call to Account the following year.
Ramsammy was awarded the Sovereign Award in Canada as an outstanding jockey in 1996 and 1997, and he received the Avelino Gomez Award 13 years ago.
Ramsammy has won several critical graded stakes races in Canada, including twice winning the Queen’s Plate, the country’s most prestigious race, with Victor Cooley in 1996 and Edenwold in 2006.
Ramsammy has racked up 2 279 wins, 2 281 seconds, 2 240 thirds, and more than CAN $89 million in purse earnings from 18 645 races during his riding career.
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