Tampabay downs media guide 16-0273-JK2

Jockey Profile
Ademar Santos
Born: August 27, 1975
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Residence: Oldsmar, FL
Family: Wife, Rose; sons Lucas, Gabriel, and Rafael
First Win: The Cure, Hipodromo de Gavea, Brazil, 1993
Started Riding: 1993, Hipodromo de Gavea, Brazil
Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Presque Isle Downs, ThistleDown
Santos seems to heat up with the weather. He won the $5,000 Jockeys’
Challenge in 2014 and 2015 during Tampa Bay Downs’ Summer Festival of
Racing, winning four races and finishing in the money on all 11 mounts during
the 2015 event. His three winners on the first day of the Summer Festival
boosted him to seventh in the 2014-2015 standings with 29 victories; he
finished 10th in the standings in 2015-2016 with 28 victories and took third in
the 2016 Jockeys’ Challenge. Santos knows a positive attitude is his key to
success on the track. “As long as I stay motivated and stay positive, I can keep
improving,” he said. “I have an Equicizer (a mechanical horse) at home and
spend a half-hour on it every morning after working out seven or eight horses at
the track, so I think I’m as fit as anybody.” His wife and sons — 9-year-old twins
Lucas and Gabriel and 7-year-old Rafael — are his biggest supporters.
Scott Spieth
Born: October 25, 1966
Birthplace: Litchfield, Michigan
Residence: Oldsmar, FL
Family: Fiancee, Aldana Gonzalez; Daughters, Kirsten Swan, Victoria, and
Valerie; sons, Austin and Bruin
First win: Glendale Downs, 1981 (Quarter Horse)
Started Riding: 1981, Glendale Downs
Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Delaware Park
Four years after reaching the 4,000-victory mark at Tampa Bay Downs, Spieth
achieved another milestone at the Oldsmar oval last April, visiting a winner’s
circle for the 4,500th time aboard the 4-year-old filly Awesome Indeed. Making
the occasion doubly meaningful was that the horse was trained by Spieth’s
fiancée, Aldana Gonzalez. Spieth has set his sights on reaching 5,000 victories
before hanging up his tack, and anyone familiar with his skills, determination
and work ethic won’t bet against him. From 2000-2008, Spieth often rode two
cards a day, competing at ThistleDown outside Cleveland during the day and
at Mountaineer in West Virginia at night. Spieth rode 307 winners in 2005
and averaged 269 a year from 2005-2007. In 2009, he recorded perhaps the
most memorable victory in his career in the $500,000 West Virginia Jefferson
Security Cup Cavada Breeders’ Classic at Charles Town aboard 3-year-old
filly My Sister Margaret. “I’ve put in my time, that’s for sure,” Spieth says.
“I’ve had spills that could have been major problems but haven’t been, so I’ve
been lucky. I guess I would describe myself as being very dedicated toward
the business.” He credits his parents, Lavern and Gearldine, as well as his
brothers, former Quarter Horse trainer Tony and equine dentist and blacksmith
Jason, for their lifelong support. His daughter, Kirsten Swan, is a top jockey of
Arabian-bred horses who won the 2014 Darley Award.
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