Tampabay downs media guide 16-0273-JK2

Jockey Profile
Fernando De La Cruz
Born: June 24, 1986
Birthplace: Huancavelica, Peru
Residence: Greenfield, IN
Family: Wife, Rosa; son, Brian; daughter, Norma
First Win: Santelmo, Hipodromo de Monterrico, Peru
Started Riding: 2006
Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Indiana Grand
His sterling record and outgoing personality make De La Cruz one of the
Oldsmar oval’s most popular jockeys. By late summer of 2016, he was headed
toward a sixth consecutive season with purse earnings in excess of $3-million,
as well as a riding title at Indiana Grand. He finished fourth in the 2015-2016
Oldsmar standings with 68 victories, winning the Florida Cup Hilton Garden Inn/
Hampton Inn & Suites Sprint on Catalina Red. No one in the riding De La Cruz
family will forget the afternoon of Feb. 21, 2014 at Tampa Bay Downs. After
watching his brothers, Juan and Walter, win races earlier on the card, Fernando
completed the unique trifecta aboard 5-year-old gelding Rocky Gap. It is
believed to be the only time in Thoroughbred history three brothers have won
races on a single card. The 2013-14 meeting was memorable for De La Cruz
for other reasons as well. He rode his 1,000th career winner aboard Jungle
Princess for trainer Jamie Ness and captured the $100,000 Sandpiper Stakes
on My Sweet Dove for trainer Monte Thomas. De La Cruz missed several
weeks after fracturing a bone in his arm early in the meeting, but returned
in time to climb to fourth in the standings with 66 victories. Healthy for that
summer, De La Cruz ran away with the jockeys’ crown at Indiana Grand, riding
129 winners. During the 2012-13 TBD meeting, De La Cruz won the $75,000
Super Stakes aboard 6-year-old gelding Good Lord in then-track-record time of
1:22.03 for seven furlongs. His stakes success continued in the 2015 Wayward
Lass Stakes for owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Michael Maker
aboard Awesome Flower in stakes-record time. He is one of eight siblings.
Ricardo Feliciano
Born: August 4, 1976
Birthplace: Cleveland, OH
Residence: Cleveland and Tampa, FL
Family: Wife, Lady; sons, Benny and Armani
First Win: Clever Express, Mountaineer Park, 1997
Started Riding: 1997, ThistleDown
Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Presque Isle Downs, ThistleDown
As he nears his 21st year in the irons, the ultra-consistent Feliciano, who
was closing in on 2,000 victories by late summer, continues to strengthen his
reputation as a strong gate rider, savvy judge of pace and excellent finisher. He
has averaged more than 100 victories over the last nine years. It seems as if
Feliciano was born to ride. His father Benny Feliciano was the leading jockey
at Tampa Bay Downs during the 1980-1981 meeting and is currently training.
Ricardo’s uncle Miguel Feliciano is also a successful trainer, primarily in Ohio,
and has saddled almost 1,400 winners. Ricardo rode his first race when he
was 11 at Classic Mile in Ocala, Fla., describing it as “part of a country day at
the races.” He grew up around ThistleDown outside Cleveland, and says of
his early years around the oval, “I was fascinated by it. I went a lot when I was
really young, and then I went back when I was about 15 or 16 and I carried
on. I started galloping horses in the morning, and then I was a (jockey’s) valet
for three years. After that, I got my license and started riding.” First, though,
his father required him to complete his education, although he was allowed
to gallop horses. Among the top horses he has ridden is the venerable mare
Pay the Man, an Ohio-bred trained by his uncle. She won more than $1-million
and 21 stakes, the majority with Ricardo in the irons. He competes primarily at
ThistleDown in the summers, occasionally switching his tack to Presque Isle
Downs in Erie, Pa.
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