Story by Megan Eads, race marketing intern at Horseshoe Indianapolis
SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022) – After becoming the leading apprentice rider in 2018, Jockey Edgar Morales has managed to make a name for himself at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Morales is what one would call a “silent assassin.” He is a humble, patient, and soft-spoken jockey who puts in the work and does what is told without asking any questions. Looking through previous interviews, “The Courier & Press” in Evansville had one quote that stood out from his previous agent, Julio Espinoza, and he said, “He’s one of the smartest riders I’ve ever had...he’s polite, quiet. Everybody likes him, and that’s a big key.”
Morales was recently interviewed to get an insight into his journey in becoming a jockey has been like. Morales grew up on a chicken and dairy farm in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has a jockey school at Camarero Racetrack that many successful jockeys have attended such as John Velasquez, who Morales enjoys watching. A popular path is to attend jockey school, but that wasn’t the case for Morales. He grew up around horses and through his brother, Roberto Morales who is also a jockey, he was able to expand his interest in horse racing.
In 2014 when Morales was just 16 years old, he moved from Puerto Rico to Louisiana to begin his journey. From there he started hot walking and galloping, then after some time, a trainer, Efren Loza, took him to Miami, Fla. where he galloped horses for about two years. Considering he didn’t go to jockey school, the process was a bit slower. He continued learning from galloping, obtained an agent (Espinoza) who shipped him and a couple horses from Miami, and began his riding career at Keeneland in 2017.
Morales was able to win his first race within a week and a half of being at Keeneland. He competed there for about a month before racing at Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs. In the beginning, many jockeys have their work cut out for them when trying to find owners/trainers to ride for since they have to advertise themselves, build trust and connections, and maybe find an agent, but since Morales had Loza he said, “Having Loza made the process from galloping to racing a little easier.”
Many wouldn’t know this unless you were to look in the program, but this season Morales sits 6th in the overall standings for total of 25 wins. He also has the highest win percentage (40 percent) when racing aboard both two and three-year-olds. Many have a strategy when racing whether that be working their way up or getting in the lead right away and maintaining, however, when asked about his racing strategy he simply said, “It all depends upon the trainers’ instructions and the race itself, but I normally save ground and be patient.”
When Morales was asked about his ultimate goal, he said he wants to, “win the Kentucky Derby one day.” Winning the Kentucky Derby is as big as it gets in the horse racing world, so many have the dream of participating in the race. With that being said, Morales has built himself quite an impressive resume throughout his career and it is very likely he will be seen in the Kentucky Derby sometime in the future.
Photos by Coady Photography
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