Jacobson: apprentice jockey Rice 'can ride against anybody in New York'

Jacobson: apprentice jockey Rice 'can ride against anybody

in New York'

In the midst of a long, cold winter in New York, jockey

Taylor Rice has enjoyed a meet-long hot streak at Aqueduct, propelling

her from relative obscurity to fifth place in the inner-track jockey standings

and placing her name alongside some of the best riders in the business.

Through Thursday, Rice has compiled a record of 40-28-34

from 200 starts, putting her behind journeymen Irad Ortiz Jr., who sits atop

the leaderboard with 78 winners, Jose Ortiz, Cornelio Velasquez and Manny

Franco.

Though unknown to most prior to the 2013-2014 Aqueduct

winter meet, the 25-year-old apprentice comes from a family steeped in racing

tradition. Her grandfather, Clyde Rice, grew up with D. Wayne Lukas in Antigo,

Wisconsin, and is an owner and former trainer, and her aunt, Linda Rice, is a fixture

on the NYRA circuit and currently tied for third in the trainer standings at

Aqueduct.

Rice's immediate family is actively involved in the game

as well. Her father is a trainer and former jockey, her mother is a farm

manager, and the first horse she rode to victory was trained by her brother.

Although relatively inexperienced, her strong racing

background helps explain the precocity she displays on the track, which has

caught the eye of industry veterans and casual fans alike.

"She's already got down the hardest thing to learn, and

that's patience and how to position your horses," said former jockey and NYRA TV

analyst Richard Migliore, who heads the jockey apprentice program at The New

York Racing Association (NYRA).

"She puts her horses in good position and

sees a race well; that's a very hard thing for a young rider to get. Now she

just needs to work on her physical strength and how she finishes on horses. When

(her strength) catches up to her intelligence, she's going to be the complete

package."

Before her current success, Rice came to Belmont in the

fall of 2013 for a two-week period after Presque Isle Downs closed at the end of

September. Although she didn't ride any winners during that stretch, getting a

taste of elite racing proved useful when she moved her tack to Hawthorne

Racecourse, where she won 41 of 196 starts and finished seventh in the jockey

standings. When Hawthorne's meet came to a close at the end of 2013, Rice headed

back to New York with a renewed confidence and primed for success on a bigger

stage.

"I was just a seven-pound bug with only six wins under me

when I first came (to New York)," explained Rice, who graduated from Florida State

University with a degree in international relations prior to launching her

career as a jockey. "(When I came back) the momentum I had from Hawthorne really

helped; people were willing to give me a shot."

Chief among those ready to give her a leg up when she

returned to New York was her aunt, Linda Rice, who encouraged her to make the move to

the circuit due to its lucrative purses. Linda Rice was able to provide her with an

influx of shorter-priced horses to go along with the steady diet of long shots

every apprentice must first showcase their abilities on, which proved

instrumental to expanding the fledgling rider's business.

"I was putting her on a lot of horses I own, at first,"

the trainer remarked, "but it wasn't long before my other owners were telling me it

would be OK to have her ride their horses, too, once she started winning. She's

a real talent."

Already enjoying modest success at the meet, a major

breakthrough occurred for Rice when, almost by accident, she gained the

respect and business of the leading trainer on the NYRA circuit in 2013, David

Jacobson.

"I figured as a favor to Linda (Rice) I'd put her on a

horse or two; I had no idea how she could ride," Jacobson stated. "One of them

won, one of them finished third, and she did everything right. I said, 'Wow,

let's try another one, maybe it was just luck.' It turned out it wasn't luck.

She's a very skilled, talented rider and I feel she can ride against anybody in

New York."

With two of the best trainers in New York giving her

mounts, Rice was poised to make a rapid ascension up the jockey standings. But

perhaps more impressive than her position on the leaderboard is the way she's

achieved it, having ridden at least 75 fewer races than each of the four jockeys

ahead of her.

Her 20-percent win percentage is second only to Irad Ortiz Jr.'s

meet-leading 23 percent clip. While such a high conversion of winners is an

obvious testament to her skill, every jockey knows that it would be impossible

to win at that rate without the help of a savvy agent. In Rice's case, it is

veteran agent Roger Sutton navigating the volatile landscape of racing for her

with precision and tact.

"To borrow an old racetrack term, I like the flashing

lights," Sutton said. "9-2, 7-2, 8-5, 3-5, that's where you're going to win. I

want to ride a favorite every race. They say favorites win less than 30 percent

of the time but if I put her on a favorite, second favorite, or third favorite,

I've done my job. Then it's up to the horse to produce."

It is Rice's ability to coax the best effort out of every

horse she gets aboard, whether it's a favorite or a long shot, that has

separated her from many of the other apprentice jockeys who try to make a go of

it during the winter at the Big A. However, despite her tremendous success, Rice

is by no means a finished product, as she will readily admit.

"I definitely need to improve my strength, my finish," admitted Rice, echoing the words of Migliore. "I just want to keep getting better and

better."

While the waters will get deeper when many of the top

riders return from Florida, Rice is hopeful her attitude and professionalism

will continue to make her an attractive option to prospective employers. Her

gaudy win percentage may dip but her ability has already made a lasting

impression on owners, trainers, and fans.

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