Visiting jockey Reyluis Gutierrez enjoys Caymanas Park
Reyluis Gutierrez shared that while becoming a jockey was not his first choice of professions, he had no regrets about entering the world of horse racing.
Gutierrez, a native of Rochester in New York, United States, earned his first career victory at Finger Lakes in 2017, the same year he started his riding career.
In 2018, during his first full year as a rider, he was nominated as an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice. Gutierrez continued to achieve success on the competitive New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit and at Gulfstream Park in Florida in 2019.
He won his first graded stakes race in March 2019 on
Do Share in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct in New York.
According to Equibase, Gutierrez, who competes at the Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana, has 650 career wins, 644 second-place finishes, and 622 third-place finishes from 4,805 rides, totalling US$30,800,971.
“My father is a trainer at Finger Lakes, and having spend a lot of time with him, I fell in love with the sport, plus my uncles are jockeys. I didn’t initially want to be a jockey; I wanted to be a physical therapist, but I stopped growing, and so here I am,” Gutierrez told the Jamaica Observer’s The Supreme Racing Guide.
“I just continue to ride. I have won leading rider, and I continue to find good horses, and we have been very successful and lucky this year in finding them. But today, I am just enjoying Jamaica. I have no regrets. I am a very happy rider. I am the happiest person here today, being in Jamaica,” he further said.
Gutierrez made his local debut at Caymanas Park on Easter Monday, April 1, 2024. Although he didn’t win any race from his five mounts, Gutierrez said that it was an experience of a lifetime.
“It felt great. The weather was great, and there were a lot of happy people. It was a wonderful feeling, as everybody was lovely, and being out there on track was good. It is a nice track, and I happily enjoyed it.
“This track is like the track in Colonia Downs in Richmond, Virginia. It is big, it is wide, and the turns are pretty kind to the horses as they have a pretty good amount of time to get around there. As far as the metres go, the 200, 400, and 600 are very comparable to Colonia Downs,” he said.
