Graham Wins First Kentucky Riding Title With Last-Day Victories At Ellis Park

James Graham captured the fourth and fifth races on Ellis Park’s closing card to earn his first riding title in Kentucky with 26 wins.

That was one more than Corey Lanerie, the three-time defending meet leader and five-time champ overall who rode Monday at Parx Racing, where he finished second in the $300,000 Smarty Jones on Ellis Park Derby winner Gray Magician. Winning one race on the final day to tie Lanerie for second was Tyler Baze, a long-time fixture in California who is riding full-time in Kentucky for the first time.

Declan Carroll, who began riding races last fall, had a break-out meet, finishing fourth in the jockey standings with 19 wins after really heating up the last half of the meet to be the leading apprentice rider.

Winning his third training title in four years was Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, whose 24 wins were six more than 2018 meet-leader Brad Cox. Asmussen sent out a total of 149 starters over the 27-date meet (with two days lost to weather), averaging 5 1/2 runners per card. Cox ran 60 horses, second-most at the meet.

Asmussen also captured his first Ellis Park owner’s title, winning with five of his own horses. Finishing in a tie for second were Ruis Racing, Racer’s Edge and Mike Sisk’s M and M Racing.

Ellis Park honored 83-year-old track superintendent Glenn Thompson for 69 years of service, all as part of the racetrack maintenance crew except for his first year at age 15, when he sold lemon-aid. The vast majority of those years were as track superintendent.

The details:

Leading jockey: Graham edges Lanerie, Baze

Lanerie won the last two races Sunday to take a 25-24 lead over Graham and Baze. Graham’s title moves came in winning the fourth race on Giro Kate ($16 to win) and the fifth on Bonnet ($6.80) to finish with 26 wins out of 157 mounts, with 26 seconds and 21 thirds. Baze won the 10th race on Sister Nova ($14.20) for Asmussen for his 25th win but did not have a mount in the 11th race that closed out the meet.

“It’s been a wonderful place to race all summer, and we’ve had a lot of fun,” Graham said. “It’s been a tough meet all along. The two boys kept it honest the whole meet, Corey and Tyler. I’m just happy we all came out in one piece. It’s been great. Ellis Park did a wonderful job throughout the summer, racing quality horses, a lot of horses staying here now and not going to New York for racing because racing is good here. It’s great to finally get a riding title atEllis. I think I’ve been second the last two years.”

The 40-year-old Graham cast off any discussion of a title in recent weeks, insisting he didn’t even know where he stood – though Lanerie suggested Sunday that his friend and rival knew exactly where things stood.

“Kind of,” Graham, a product of Dublin, Ireland, admitted with one of his trademark playful laughs. “I wasn’t paying that much attention until coming down to the last week, because you can’t. You’d put too much pressure on yourself; you just have to let things flow. I’m just glad for all the trainers who helped me out this meet and my agent, Frank (Bernis), my wife Lisa and all my kids and everybody is here and happy.”

Making the moment even more special was that Monday was the Grahams’ 13th wedding anniversary, with the jockey’s wife showing up at the races with their three young children. The Grahams recently sold their New Orleans home and are looking for a farm in the Louisville area.

Lisa Graham said the jockey never brought up the title. She only knew he had clinched a tie when her mother texted that James had won two in a row.

“For him, he just wants to ride,” said Lisa, who is from Cork. “He doesn’t worry about titles, because you can make yourself crazy. It’s so out of your control. But I’m really proud of it. Our very first summer in America, we were here in 2003, then we went to Chicago. So it’s kind of cool to come back and be leading rider.”

Meanwhile, Baze, who rode predominantly for Asmussen at Ellis, took his second-place tie in the standings in stride. 

“Titles mean a lot, but safety is what I’m worried about,” he said. “We all had a good meet, everybody left here safe. So it was a very successful meet for everybody.

“I’m very happy how the meet went. Steve gave me this wonderful opportunity. Without him, who knows how the meet would have gone? It was fun and I liked being here.”

Leading apprentice jockey: Declan Carroll

Carroll, a 20-year-old graduate of Louisville’s Trinity High School, has wanted to be a jockey for practically his entire life, being the son of well-respected horsemen David and Kim Carroll. Declan Carroll won the sixth race on Shorely Monday to get his 19th win.

“It means the world to me,” Carroll said of being recognized as leading apprentice. “I’ve been very lucky to ride for very good people and the horses have been running very well for me. I’m just glad I’ve gotten the opportunities and am trying to make the most of them. We’re on to Kentucky Downs, then Churchill and Keeneland coming up. Just trying to keep the ball rolling.”

Leading trainer and owner: Steve Asmussen

Mitch Dennison, who oversees Asmussen’s 100-horse Ellis Park operation, had all his help (except those cooling out or preparing to run horses) join him in accepting their boss’ trophy as leading trainer.

“It’s like 50 employees,” Dennison said. “All of them deserved to take the picture of this as well. It takes an army to make this work. We school a lot, claim a lot, run a lot of horses. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish what I do every day.”

That included the barn sweeping the 2-year-old stakes at the meet, with L and N Racing’s Rowdy Yates in the $100,000 TwinSpires Ellis Park Juvenile and Clearsky Farms’ Green Destiny in the $100,000 TwinSpires Ellis Park Debutante.

The Asmussen barn isn’t shy about being goal-oriented, including winning titles. 

“A title is a good thing to have on your resume,” Dennison said. “It’s like Steve says, at the end of the day, we’re appreciative of and blessed to have such great horses. It’s the horses that make our operation able to do what we do for clients.”

As an added perk, Dennison collected another trophy for his boss as leading owner. “Yeah, the blue and white silks,” he said. “He does like to play in the claim game with owners as well as himself. Kind of a home-team horse when one of them wins for him. It’s exciting. It’s fun.

“There’s nothing better than Ellis Park, and it keeps getting better for Kentucky racing as the years go on. We’re excited to be here.”

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