© by Ray Sanchez 05.01.16
Think football players have it tough? Think jockeys.
It’s been said that pound for pound, racehorse jockeys are the toughest, and bravest, athletes in the world.
Think of it. Jockeys take their lives in their own hands every time they get on a thousand pound animal going 40 miles an hour on four spindly legs.
The result can be catastrophic, and it is more often than one would think. Just about every jockey who has been riding for any amount of time has been involved in a spill when a horse’s leg breaks during a race. The result is broken bones – and even death – when a jockey hits the turf. Other horses in the race can, and often do, run over, or fall on, the fallen jockey.
I MENTION this because of Casey Lambert, one of the most revered jockeys in the history of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. He has been involved in five serious spills and several other minor ones. The last serious spill occurred in 2013 when he broke his neck for the second time.
His most serious one occurred in 2005 at Lone Star Park outside of Dallas. Following is an excerpt from BloodHorse Magazine:
“His horse was on the lead when it fell heading into the stretch. ‘He (the horse) broke down and I had two (other horses) go over me,’ says Casey. ‘It was pretty ugly.’
“The wreck left Casey with punctured lungs and six broken ribs. His jaw was broken in two places and a piece of his skull was ripped out. Casey was hospitalized for almost two weeks.
“Two years later, Casey was involved in another spill at Sunland Park. This time he broke his jaw again and suffered a compound fracture that required artificial bone to be inserted in his left arm. His left wrist was so badly hurt that he needed two plates and 10 screws to repair the damage.”
BUT TO THE relief of racing fans and his family, Casey, who will be 50 on Aug. 24 and has made Santa Teresa his home, has hung up his jersey.
He retired from riding after the 2015-2016 Ruidoso Downs season and just before the live racing season began at Sunland. His retirement was somewhat overshadowed by Sunland Park’s problems this season. A virus hit the track, horses had to be quarantined and many races were cancelled.
But Casey went out in style after 35 years of riding. He won the thoroughbred jockey championship at Ruidoso Downs during the 2015 summer.
And he was so revered by the national racing community that after his retirement he was named winner of one of the most prestigious honors in the sport: The Laffit Pincay Award. It is named for retired U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr. and is given “to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction.”
NEEDLESS to say, Casey’s retirement was received with the most relief by his parents, Cliff and Glenna Lambert, and Casey’s wife, Brandi, and their two children.
“Physically and mentally, he could probably go another 10 years,” Casey’s mother, Glenna, told BloodHorse Magazine, “but I don’t want him to have any more injuries. This was a wise decision.”
And his father, Cliff, a former jockey and trainer himself, simply added, “Casey is an amazing person.”
CASEY LAMBERT won’t be riding anymore but he’s not leaving the sport. He’s taken up training. And it didn’t take long for him to become a winner in that department. Out of his first 25 starters he had two wins, seven seconds and five thirds. That’s more than 50 percent in the money. Not bad for a rookie.
The live horse racing season at Sunland will end Tuesday. I’m sure all racing fans are wishing Casey Lambert success in his new endeavor. He certainly deserves it.