Court moves up Oaklawn jockey standings

A triple Friday pushed 2000 Oaklawn Park riding champion Jon Court, 57, to fifth in the standings with 10 days remaining in the meeting.

Two of Court’s victories were for his father-in-law, trainer Jinks Fires, of Hot Springs.

Court won the second race aboard Philoctetes ($31) for trainer Grant Forster, fourth race aboard favored Arch Cat ($6.40) for Fires and the ninth race aboard Uno Sueno ($26.20) for Fires.

The triple increased Court’s career victory total at Oaklawn to

665, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Court was Oaklawn’s leading apprentice jockey in 1981 – his first year to ride in Hot Springs – with

10 victories and rode 69 winners in 2000 to capture the riding title.

Court ranks 66th in North American history in career victories with 4,111 and 51st in career purse earnings with $103,668,675, according to Equibase.

Ramon Vazquez became the sixth jockey to reach $1 million in purse earnings at the meet when sprinter Smart Spree won Thursday’s eighth race, an allowance/ optional claimer for older horses. Vazquez has $1,048,771 in purse earning at Oaklawn in 2018 and ranks fourth at the meet with 27 wins in 201 starts.

Court ranks seventh in purse earning at $911,996 and fifth in wins with 23 in 172 starts.

Georgia’s Reward provided jockey David Cohen with his first Oaklawn stakes victory Saturday in the $100,000 Rainbow Miss Stakes for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred fillies. Georgia’s Reward was the 9-5 program favorite for trainer Ron Moquett, of Hot Springs.

Cohen is now tied for second in wins with David Cabrera with 34 in 217 starts and $1,446,592 in purses. Cabrera is just ahead of Cohen for second in purse earning with

$1,459,497 in 247 starts. Ricardo Santana Jr. leads the standings with 54 wins and

$2,810,822 in 243 starts. Oaklawn did not host live racing Sunday in observance of Easter. The track is scheduled to hold races five days this week from Wednesday through Sunday.