School Days

by Ed Meyer

posted on May 30, 2009 in General Discussion, News | 3 Comments >>

If you happened to be at River Downs on Friday afternoon, you would have caught a glimpse of a H.O.F rider Chris McCarron and his students from the North American Racing Academy from Lexington, Kentucky.

Coming up for the trip was 25-year-old apprentice Ben Creed, making his career debut in the 14th race.

At the top of the lane, his mount steadied briefly at the quarter pole, but closed steadily along a small opening on the rail.  He finished a close second. His only thought coming into the race was that he didn’t want to be on the rail. Guess where Otto Thorwarth put him down the lane.

Creed took a different route than most. He worked many jobs, and the advice was always the same. “You should be a jockey with your size.”

Well, he Googled the N.A.R.A and Chris McCarron, and the rest is in the books. This kid is in the best of hands, and has the look of a gutsy rider. How many first time riders jump a small gap at the top of the stretch? How many don’t give up when the other horse gets a little close down the lane?

This guy has the look of a nice rider. He has the weight and the skills to boot. I think we are going to see good things from this guy…