Saturday, February 21, 2009

Vickers: The New Money Rider?

by Ralph the Cat

Probably not, but don't tell him that. Nathan Vickers has surely been the surprise this winter leading the others by a near $20,000 in earnings. Tho Nguyen read my blog last month, and must have got on his agent. Tho leads all riders with a stunning 14 wins from just 43 starts, with Vickers sitting 2nd with 11 wins. I never cared to really make a big deal about the riders standings but it has been a rare year, worth mentioning. Oswald Pereira is no where to be found in the jockeys standing, with just 5 wins from 66 starts. That said, it doesn't appear that he's riding that bad. Some of his mounts have been just awful on paper, yet hes got 10-1 horses or higher up for a show or place spot each night the past month or more, simply incredible, but doesn't count for much more. Ozzie sits with a stunning 14 2nd place finishes from those 66 mounts, more 2nd place finishes than both the leading and 2nd ranked riders at Mountaineer. Someone tell Ozzie where the wire is. If he can turn those 2nd place finishes into victories for the second half of the meet, surely he can play catch up, but it wont be easy, that's for sure.