Santa Anita unveils five finalists for Woolf Award

Santa Anita Park has announced five finalists for the

prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, with the winner to be announced in February following a vote of jockeys nationwide.

Veteran jockeys James Graham, Mike Luzzi, Leslie Mawing,

Corey Nakatani and the recently retired Rosie Napravnik are the 2015 finalists

for the trophy that has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950.

One of the most prestigious awards in all of racing, the

Woolf Award is presented to a different jockey each year and it recognizes those

riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and

the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The winner's trophy is a replica of the

life-sized statue of legendary jockey George Woolf, which adorns Santa Anita's

Paddock Gardens area.

Woolf, who died following a spill on Santa Anita's Club

House turn on January 3, 1946, was regarded as one of the top big-money jockeys of

his era. Known affectionately as "The Iceman," he was revered by his colleagues,

members of the media and fans across America as a fierce competitor and

consummate professional who was at his best when the stakes were highest.

The 2015 Woolf ballot features five highly regarded riders

who have plied their trade on both racing's biggest and smaller stages with

honor and distinction.

A 35-year-old native of Dublin, Ireland, Graham has

established himself as one of the top jockeys in the Midwest. A two-time leading

rider (2011 & 2014) at Arlington, he has consistently been among the

leaders at that Chicago track dating back to 2004.

America's Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 1988, Luzzi has enjoyed a highly successful career and through November 19,

has ridden 3,420 winners. A 45-year-old native of Wilmington, Delaware, the

veteran rider

grew up near Delaware Park and was raised in part by his grandfather, legendary

trainer Buddy Raines. Two of Luzzi's biggest early stakes winners were trained

by Raines, as Timely Warning took both the 1991 Maryland Million Classic at

Pimlico and the Grade 1 Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park. A regular on the New

York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit since 1994, the jockey is a two-time winner

(1994 & 2001) of the prestigious Mike Venezia Memorial Award, an honor given

annually to a New York-based jockey who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship

and citizenship.

Although a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Mawing became a jockey in the United States, breaking his maiden at age 20 at

Les Boise Park in Boise, Idaho, on June 19, 1994. Currently ensconced at Golden

Gate Fields near San Francisco, he has become a force to be reckoned with at

Emerald Downs near Seattle and was that track's leading rider in both 2011 and

2014.

Considered one of America's top jockeys for the past 25

years, Nakatani has ridden with a combination of intense desire and

God-given talent en route to multiple riding titles and 10 Breeders' Cup wins. Born in Covina,

California, on October 21, 1970, Nakatani, who had no previous racetrack background,

began working with horses at age 16 and broke his maiden with his very first

mount at Agua Caliente, Mexico, in April 1988.

Following her win aboard the Steve Asmussen-trained

Untapable in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on October 31, riding

sensation Napravnik stunned the racing world by announcing on live

television that she would retire from riding to "start a family" following the

remaining Breeders' Cup races the following day. Stating later that she was

seven weeks pregnant, Napravnik said that she was looking forward to motherhood

and her new role as an assistant to her husband, Thoroughbred trainer Joe Sharp,

who is based in Kentucky. Napravnik, 26, began riding at age 17 in Maryland and retires with 1,878

wins from 9,715 mounts. Her major stakes wins include two Breeders' Cup

victories and two triumphs as the first and only female to win the Kentucky Oaks.

The Woolf Award is traditionally presented in mid- or late

March, depending upon the winner's riding schedule and availability.

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