Jockey Corey Lanerie, 36, born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, hit the
3,000-career win milestone Thursday at Fair Grounds with his first mount of the day in the third race of the afternoon.
The victory came with a 3 1/2- length tally aboard Robert and Lawana Low’s
Native Mambo, trained by Steve Margolis.
“It
feels great to do it here in front of everybody that has supported me
throughout my career,” said Lanerie following post-race ceremonies
that included posing in the winner’s circle with the entire Fair
Grounds jockey colony. “First I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the
trainers and owners who gave me every opportunity that I had. If it
wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be standing here today, so thanks
to everybody. It feels great to do it here in Louisiana.”
Lanerie,
who began his career in 1991 at Evangeline Downs, quickly graduated to
Fair Grounds that same year. The son of former jockey-turned-trainer
Gerald Lanerie was asked if remembered his first win.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Lanerie. “It was for
C. D. Delahoussaye on April 19, 1991. The horse was named
High Hopes Banquet. I was
told to get on the fence and stay there. I stayed there and went
through a hole that probably wasn’t really there. That young and
inexperienced, I didn’t know any better. I remember it very
well.”
What winning horse stood out the most in his career?
“Probably (William Farish and E. J. Hudson’s)
Parade Leader in the (2002 Grade II)
New Orleans Handicap (for trainer
Neil Howard),” said Lanerie, who was joined in the winner’s circle by his wife
Shantel and 3-year-old daughter Brittlyn. “The race was for $500,000 and that was one of my first big thrills.”
Lanerie
also mentioned riding Posse to victory in the 2003 Grade II Riva Ridge
Breeders’ Cup on the Belmont Stakes undercard as another vivid
highlight.
Lanerie, incidentally, is nominated for the prestigious
2011 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award this winter, presented annually to a jockey riding in
North America who demonstrates high
standards of personal and professional conduct on and off the racetrack.
The one-time-only award is voted on by members of the Jockeys’ Guild
who choose from among their peers nominated by
Guild regional managers.
“With
my little girl coming along, things seem to be falling into place for
me right now and I hope it continues,” said Lanerie. “I’m probably
having the most fun I’ve ever had. It’s special right now. It’s fun.”