Champion Jockey Victor Carras Presented with February Touch of Class Award

Maryland-based Jockey Victor Carrasco accepts Touch of Class Award from MHIB Chairman Jim Steele and Board Member Kathleen Tabor.

Annapolis, MD – Victor Carrasco, the Maryland-based jockey who was recently named Thoroughbred racing’s leading apprentice rider, was presented with the Maryland Horse Industry Board’s (MHIB) Touch of Class Award during the President’s Day races at Laurel Park yesterday.

“This award continues to show the breadth and depth of the excellence in all aspects of Maryland’s equine industry,” said MHIB Chairman Jim Steele.

Carrasco, a native of Puerto Rico, regularly rides in Maryland at Laurel and Pimlico Race Courses. He led all apprentice jockeys in the United States last year, winning 215 races. His mounts earned more than $4.3 million. He was also presented with the 2013 Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding apprentice jockey at ceremonies in Florida last month. He is the tenth Maryland-based apprentice jockey to win the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding young rider. Other Maryland-based jockeys who have previously won this award include Hall of Famers Chris McCarron and Kent Desormeaux.

Each month, the MHIB, a program within the Maryland Department of Agriculture, honors Maryland horses and people who achieve national and international distinction. The award is named after the Maryland-bred mare, Touch of Class, who won two show jumping Gold Medals at the 1984 Olympics. Since the inception of the award, MHIB has honored 46 people, 23 horses and ponies from 23 different equine disciplines, representing 14 different Maryland counties.

For more information, contact MHIB Executive Director Ross Peddicord by email at ross.peddicord@maryland.gov or by phone at 410-841-5798.

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