Jody Petty
Petty by Katherine O. Rizzo
When you pull up Jody Petty’s race record on Central Entry Offi ce, it is 30 pages long! T irty pages of very small print! T e database states that he has had 1281 starts in his two and a half decades as a jump jockey. And that is all by a man who says he “sort of just fell into the sport.” Originally from Elkton, Petty now lives just
over the border in Unionville, PA and offi cially retired from steeplechasing at this year’s Fair Hill Point-to-Point on April 16, riding his last race aboard a horse named Dr. Skip in the Amateur Open Flat. In a way, Petty’s racing ca- reer came full circle that day as he fi rst started galloping racehorses just across the road at the Fair Hill Training Center while attending North East High School. “I actually got my fi rst event horse from
over there,” Petty said with a chuckle. “A horse named Holy Matrimony that I rode up through Intermediate. I had no idea you were supposed to take jump lessons! T at horse taught me more about riding than any single person.” Right out of high school, Petty began work- ing for Bruce Miller, foxhunting and schooling his younger horses. “It was actually Jay Meister who talked me into riding,” Petty said. From Miller’s stables, Petty moved on to working with Ricky Hen- driks. “He taught me how to ride a race and put me on my fi rst winner,” Petty ex- plained. T at fi rst win was aboard Herbagar’s Fold, owned by William Lickle, in September of 1995 at the Fairfax Races in the High Weight Flat. Petty’s very fi rst race was
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a few years earlier in March of 1992 when he rode An- ticipate for owners Mr. and Mrs. J. David McDaniel in
25 Years of Racing Memories
the Rider Oppor- tunity Flat at the Farmington Hunt Point-to-Point. T e pair fi nished third. Petty rode three more times that fi rst year; the rest were hurdle races. T e follow-
ing year, Petty rode in seven races including his fi rst over timber. His inter- est in the sport continued to grow; as did the number of races he rode each year. Petty’s fi rst win over fences was in April of 1996 riding Nap, again for trainer Hen- driks and owner Lickle, in the Maiden Claiming Hur- dle at the Atlanta Steeple- chase. From there, the list of races goes on and on. Over the course of his 25-year ca- reer, Petty has won 230 rac- es, has come in second 187 times and third 163 times.
National Champion
One of the most awarded horses in his racing career was three-time Eclipse Award winner (2003, 2005, 2006) McDynamo. Owned by
Michael Moran and
earnings of $1,314,450. Petty rode McDynamo for six of those wins, taking over the ride in Oc- tober of 2005. With Petty in the irons, McDynamo won two of his three Eclipse Awards before being retired to Moran’s Unionville, PA farm. He also earned more than half a million dollars with Petty. “Sanna put me on some really nice horses,”
Petty said. He was working for Neilson while McDynamo was fi rst making records. “My fi rst race on him was at the Breeders Cup. He wasn’t having a good year, which is why I got the ride,” Petty stated. “Sanna was changing things up for him and told me to go out in front and just go for it. And it worked!” “Jody did such a
great job with Mc- Dynamo,” Neilson said of their fi rst race together.
“He
Jody Petty rode the three-time Eclipse Award winner McDynamo to three Breeders Cup wins in a row.
trained by Sanna Neilson, the big bay gelding won 20 out of 33 starts, fi n- ished second six times and third once for career
rode with cour- age and did exactly what I asked. T ey got along right away and were beautiful to watch.” “It is incredible for one horse to have won the Breeders Cup fi ve years in a row,” Petty pointed
out. T ree of those wins were with Petty on board as well as winning two Colonial Cup wins. “He really cares about the horses just as much as he cares about winning,” Neilson said, adding, “and he will always be a part of McDy- namo’s amazing history.” For his stellar 2005 season, Petty earned the
National Steeplechase Association Leading Jockey award.
Hunt Cup Guts
After more than a decade of riding as a pro- fessional, Petty decided to move back to the amateur world, specifi cally to be able to ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup. “It is hard to explain, but I wanted to go back to riding just for the fun of it,” he said.
Jody Petty won the Maryland Hunt Cup on his second trip around the course riding Guts for Garters for trainer Sanna Neilson and owner Stewart Strawbridge.
His Hunt Cup mount came in the form of
a 10-year-old Irish-bred gelding named Guts continued...
JUNE 2017 | THE EQUIERY | 13
Bob Keller
Katherine O. Rizzo
Tod Marks Photography
910765-170617
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