Adirondack Sports July 2023

20 Adirondack Sports
ATHLETE
PROFILE
Ramon
◀ RIDING DILL OR NO DILL
IN RUTHLESS STAKES AT
AQUEDUCT, JANUARY 2008.
BRANDON BENSON
◀ WINNING THE GOOD
KARMA 5K IN CLIFTON
PARK ON JUNE 17, 2023.
DARRYL CARON
Dominguez
AGE: 46
FAMILY: Wife, Sharon, and sons,
Alex and Matthew
RESIDENCE: Saratoga Springs,
originally from Caracas, Venezuela
PROFESSION: Retired thoroughbred
horse racing jockey; still involved
in racing
PRIMARY SPORT: Running
By Jack Rightmyer
Ramon Dominguez’s life changed
on January 18, 2013, at the
Aqueduct Racetrack. At the time
he was one of the best thoroughbred jockeys
in the world. He rode his first North
American professional mount in 1996
and had raced on all the big tracks from
the Kentucky Derby to Saratoga. He had
4,985 wins during his career and had won
three consecutive Eclipse Awards (2010,
2011, 2012) that are presented to the
outstanding jockey of that year. On that
January day it all came to an end.
He was approaching the top stretch
aboard a horse named Convocation,
and he was looking for an opening to
get the horse through the crowded field.
Convocation became tangled with another
horse and Ramon, along with the horse,
was thrown violently to the ground.
“That spill happened so fast I had
no time to even think about what was
happening,” Ramon said. “It all felt like
slow motion.”
He suffered multiple skull fractures
and a traumatic brain injury. He had
hopes of returning to the sport that had
given him so much, but five months after
the injury doctors advised him that he
couldn’t sustain another hit to the head
and therefore did not clear him to go back
to riding.
“I was forced to retire when I was still
in my prime. It was difficult at first, but you
learn to turn the page and enjoy life in a
different way. Being a jockey had been a
big part of my life, but now I was entering a
new stage, and that is my love for distance
running which has replaced the adrenaline
rush of riding horses.”
Ramon grew up in Caracas, the capital
of Venezuela. As a 16-year-old, he saw
his first horse race and was immediately
captivated, then knew being a jockey was
what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
He began in show jumping then turned to
riding thoroughbreds.
“Not long after I retired, I began to run
the same distance I had run as a jockey,”
▲ SIXTH WINNER OF THE DAY; ONLY DONE
ONCE BEFORE IN SARATOGA BY JOHN
VELAZQUEZ. RIDING WET ONE, JULY 2012.
ADAM COGLIANESE/NYRA
Ramon said. As a jockey, to maintain his
weight, he would often run one and occasionally
two miles. His first running race
after his retirement as a jockey was a 5K
put on by the Long Island Road Runners
Club and he placed first with a time of
19:15.
“That 5K got me hooked. Shortly after
that, I moved with my family to Saratoga
Springs and now I’m working with an
excellent coach, Bob Lane. It’s been an
amazing journey, and I’m learning so
much about how to train and how to race.”
Today, he is training about 45 miles
a week, which includes two speed workouts
on the track. In just a few years his
5K times have improved to under 17 minutes,
which is exceptional for a 46-yearold
novice runner. Ramon won the Good
Karma 5K in Clifton Park last month, and
his current PR is 16:16 at the Fit for Duty
5K in Greenwich, last October.
“I see a lot of similarities and strategy
in being a jockey and in being a distance
runner. The most important thing
I learned as a jockey was to listen to the
horse. Many times, the trainer had a plan,
but what looks good on paper might not
work on the track. When those gates
opened the horse might go out very fast,
quicker than you wanted, or the horse
might start slow. The ultimate goal was
always to finish strong.”
As a distance runner he has also on
occasion gone out too fast. “Sometimes
you get caught up in the beginning with
a fast group of runners and you start faster
that you wanted. I try to listen to my
body and how I’m feeling, which helps
me decide if I want to stay with them or
let them go.”
At his age, he knows his best years as
a racer are behind him, and yet he’s running
faster today than he ever has. “It’s