The print media, both newspapers and magazines, has significantly reduced coverage of Thoroughbred racing over the last decade. Fortunately, through the efforts of some major tracks and industry organizations such as the Jockey Club and the Breeders’ Cup, there has been a significant increase in national television devoted to the sport, particularly through Fox Sports and NBC. However, the overwhelming emphasis has been led by the support of the major Advanced Deposit Wagering companies, whose focus has properly been on the wagering product.
This has come at the expense of reduced coverage of the many powerful human and equine interest stories that are truly the fabric of Thoroughbred racing and breeding. If industry leaders narrowly focus on betting and do not cover the human interest, lifestyle, and historical power of racing, I do not think we will have a wide-ranging and interesting business that will sustain itself with the larger base of engaged customers.
That is why I was fascinated to learn about the Spanish-language start-up, Exacta Box, which was launched on November 5, 2020 - just before the Breeders’ Cup.
Exacta Box was developed and launched by Hall of Fame inductee and three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez, and fellow Venezuelan sports commentator Jose Francisco Rivera.
Rivera called races for several years in Venezuela before moving to the States and serving as a Major League Baseball play-by-play commentator for ESPN Deportes for 11 years. Through a mutual friend, Rivera was introduced to Dominguez. “He’s a huge sports fan and he understood that there was a need to provide the Hispanic market with great content for horseracing,” said Dominguez.
Complementary skills
I asked Dominguez what motivated them to produce this content. “Jose Francisco and I are very passionate about horseracing. We have met and are friends with many racing personalities whose primary language is Spanish and whose amazing stories are unknown. We felt these stories needed to be told.
“In addition, we also realized we possessed skills that complemented each other: Jose Francisco has called races and worked on races for many years. Therefore he is very good in front of the camera, and I can give a unique view of the race from a jockey’s perspective.
“Our partnership creates the right synergy to deliver a product for the Spanish-speaking population that has been neglected for too long.”
Click here to reach the Exacta Box channel on YouTube.
For those of you, like myself, who cannot read Spanish, you can click on the Google Spanish/English translation link.
Many of the videos on the channel will give the Spanish-language reader access to racing content they will find nowhere else. The current editorial strategy is to present interviews/articles on the website Wednesday and Thursday with trainers, jockeys, grooms, owners, etc in every aspect of the Thoroughbred racing world. On Saturdays, Dominguez and Rivera, with occasional guests, analyse upcoming races. They recap the races on Sundays.
This article by Katie Ritz, an executive producer at Thoroughbred Daily News, includes an excellent video in which Ritz interviews Dominguez about Exacta Box. I recommend you watch it.
Engaging racefans
The following paragraphs are excellent examples of the type of unique racing information being produced for Exacta Box that will excite and engage fans and increase their involvement and understanding of the sport. This is from an event Dominguez took part in during the 2018 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs:
“In 2018, I was one of the jockeys who participated on the ‘Jockeys’ Q&A’ panel at Equestricon in Louisville.
“We started off by showing the attendees our different saddles, explaining how there were heavy ones and light ones, depending on the weight assignment as well as our body weight, demonstrating how to change our goggles during the race and other examples regarding the type of equipment and its functionality.
“After a while, the moderator said, in about five minutes we will be wrapping up, so, if you have any questions, now is the time to ask. A woman in her 50s who, as most people, didn’t have the physique needed to be a jockey, raised her hand and said, ‘Since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a jockey. Clearly, I can’t, but I always wondered what it felt to ride in a race going that fast.’
“What happened next was fascinating to everyone present. Each of the jockeys on the panel, including me, had a big smile on their face. We took turns reliving riding different parts of a race. Things like the anticipation one experiences before going into the starting gate, how our heart is beating super-fast, regardless if we have ridden thousands of races, and how, through our legs, we can feel our horse’s heart beating fast too.
“The rush one feels when the gates open, how your brain is processing all of the things that are developing in front of you and at the same time you are trying to save ground, taking a peek back to make sure you are clear before getting closer to the rail, all of these things happening while you are getting kickback in your face, maybe having to change goggles and taking a good hold of your horse to keep him from going faster than he needs to go at that moment.
“After what seemed like a minute, time was up. The moderator thanked us for being on the panel and the fans in attendance, were expressing how pleased they were to hear us talk about riding a race. The lady who requested us to talk said she could listen to this for hours.
“It was clear we made them experience as close as possible riding a race without actually being on a horse. The funny thing is that we, as jockeys, enjoyed it almost as much taking them through the race as they did listening to us - that was a prime example of how ‘facts tell but stories sell’.”
While I was not there myself, I assure you that this was more powerful and engaging than sitting in a handicapping seminar trying to figure out which horses to use in the third leg of my Pick 3.
Ramon Dominguez, who was born in Venezuela, had a brilliant career in the saddle. He started show jumping at 16 and emigrated to the U.S., where he began riding at Florida’s Hialeah Park in 1996.
In 2001, he earned his first big break by becoming the leading jockey in wins there, and he repeated that performance in 2003, and then won the Isaac Murphy Award by having the highest win percentage among all American-based jockeys.
Dominguez went on to be the leading rider at Delaware Park from 2004 to 2007. The Delaware jockey colony would have been happy to see him move his tack to Saratoga in 2008.
From there he went to the top of the NYRA jockey colony, leading in wins from 2009 through 2012. In 2012, he set a new mark for single-season earnings by a jockey when his mounts earned $25,582,252, beating Jerry Bailey’s total from 2003 by over $2 million.
For 2010, 2011 and 2012, Dominguez won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey.
Forced retirement
Sadly, he was injured in a fall at Aqueduct on January 18, 2013, and subsequently retired on the advice of his doctor on June 13, 2013.
It certainly was heart-breaking that Ramon had to retire when he was riding at the very top of his game. However, it had to be some consolation that he was inducted to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on April 25, 2016.
“Initially, I wanted to stay away from the track because it was too painful with the memories of riding and the people that I had grown close with,” he said. “My wife, Sharon, was the one who pushed me. She said, ‘You need to go to the track,’ and I really had no say. So, I went to the track and had a good day.”
Certainly, all in the racing industry should be thankful that he followed his wife’s advice.
I was particularly pleased to learn that Dominguez was chosen to be the President of the New York Race Track Chaplaincy in February, 2020. He has been a board member since 2012.
The Chaplaincy has a strong, effective management team of Chaplain Rev. Humberto Chavez, his wife Karen Chaplain, the GM, and Nick Caras, program director. This management team supports a backstretch membership of 3,500 people brilliantly.
Dominguez also continues to be active with the national organization of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys’ Fund.
Finally, the riding crop for jockeys is causing disruption throughout the racing world. Ramon Dominguez has researched possible improvements based on his understanding on how to use or not use the whip on the horse. With racing jurisdictions throughout the country operating under different rules (indeed, in the case of New Jersey, there is basically no use of the whip), it has become a complicated, divisive issue, and it needs to be properly resolved.
One of the most informed and important articles on the use of the riding crop was this by Natalie Voss in the Paulick Report on May 10, 2019. At that time, Jockey’s Guild President Terry Meyocks and Ramon Dominguez had convinced the jockeys to use the 360 GT crop, designed by Dominguez, in both the 2019 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.
It is essential that jockeys, trainers and racetracks work to get uniformity on this important issue. Dominguez’s crop is currently being used by several of the top jockeys on the East Coast.
It’s not just about betting
Turning back to the Exacta Box, I applaud the strategy of drawing in customers to learn more about the dynamics of the sport, the interaction of all human and equine athletes and developing a knowledge of racing rather than simply betting on horses. Learning more about the interaction of the components of racing will also enhance one’s knowledge and interest in betting on horses.
In many people’s minds, betting is the be-all and end-all of the racing experience. I certainly like to make a well-thought-out wager, but nothing in racing has excited me more than watching a 2-year-old I had ten percent interest in preparing for his first race at Saratoga in 1988.
The strategy Dominguez and Rivera have embarked on with Exacta Box is important and exciting. I think any racetrack or media property in racing should watch and support their efforts as I believe their approach is very sound and something we could all learn and benefit from.
The world of Thoroughbred racing touches the lives and souls of enthusiasts far beyond betting on horses. Wagering is a component part of the industry, but in order to grow and develop the sport and the Thoroughbred industry, we need experts such as Ramon Dominguez and Jose Francisco Rivera to demonstrate the value and benefits of engaging in the sport.