De La Cruz Closing In On Indiana Riding Title
As the 2014 racing season comes to a close Saturday, Nov. 1, a new leader among the jockey ranks has emerged. Fernando De La Cruz will be crowned the leading jockey of the 120-day meet, earning his first Indiana Grand title in his seventh year of competition at the track.
A native of Huancayo, Peru, De La Cruz first came on the scene in 2007 for the Hoosier Park race meet. He quickly caught on and raced on a limited basis at Indiana Grand in 2008. However, 2009 was his breakout year, finishing fourth in the jockey standings and establishing himself as one of the top riders on the Indiana circuit.
After finishing second in the standings the past three seasons, De La Cruz is now poised at the top of the leader board with 126 wins and has dominated from start to finish in 2014. The next closest competitor is Malcolm Franklin with 94 wins heading into the final four days of action.
De La Cruz becomes only the second jockey in the history of the track to earn more than 100 wins in one season, joining last year’s champ, Franklin, with that honor. With 126 wins heading into the final four programs, the record for most wins in one season set by Franklin at 158 last year is not in jeopardy. However, the record for most money earned in one season of $3,012,176 set by Franklin could be broken by De La Cruz, especially with several of his favored horses in stakes action on closing day. De La Cruz has amassed more than $2.6 million this season, well within reach of the record in the final days of racing. If he moves above the $3 million purse earnings mark, he will become only the second jockey in history to reach the milestone.
De La Cruz’s biggest day of racing remains with five wins on one program set in 2010 at Indiana Grand. He has earned several four win days at Indiana Grand this season, coming close to equaling his own record.
The title at Indiana Grand becomes the second for De La Cruz, who also earned leading jockey honors at Hoosier Park in 2012. He nearly added a third title to his credentials earlier this year at Tampa Bay Downs, leading the standings until he got hurt and was passed in wins by other jockeys at the track to finish the season in fourth place.
“Every time, I’m second, second, second,” said De La Cruz, who has learned English from his wife, Rosa, who was a teacher in their native Peru before moving to the United States. “I’ve had a good meet this year and have really enjoyed it. Thanks to God that I have done well because one year you can be up, and the next year you can be down.”
After his hard work is completed at Indiana Grand, De La Cruz and Rosa will head to Peru for a visit with family. It also give them a chance for their two children, Brian, age four, and Norma, age one and a half, to get exposed to Peruvian culture.
“We try to go to Peru one time a year after the Indiana Grand meet, because we have a break before Tampa,” said De La Cruz. “I get to see my Mom and my Dad after here. My kids were both born in the United States. My daughter was born in Florida, but my son was born in Indiana. I like for them to see where I grew up and see my family.”
De La Cruz has several connections to racing. After meeting Rosa in Lima, he was exposed to racing through her brother, who was a jockey. De La Cruz attended the only jockey school in the country of Peru at Hipodromo de Monterrico, the country’s only racetrack. He learned his trade at the school during a two year program. It is the same place that has produced such standout jockeys as Hall of Fame rider Edgar Prado and Rafael Bejarano, who graduated in the class before De La Cruz. The school has also attracted two of De La Cruz’s brothers, Walter and Juan. Walter, the youngest, is currently the leading jockey at Thistledown while Juan, who is older and came into horse racing at an older age and rode at Indiana Grand last year, is currently riding at Charles Town.
“We were all three at Tampa Bay Downs this past winter and we all won races in a row, one-two-three, in one day,” said De La Cruz. “I don’t think that has ever been done with three brothers before.”
De La Cruz calls Greenfield, Ind. home, where he and Rosa own a house. The couple has been married 10 years. The De La Cruz family completes a year round circuit with a move to Tampa each winter for the meet before heading back to Indiana in the spring.
De La Cruz celebrated his 1,000th career win last year at Tampa. He currently has 169 wins and more than $3.3 million in purse earnings in 2014, despite a loss in riding time due to an injury. Last season, he was ranked 18th in the country by wins. The 28-year-old jockey now has more than 1,100 career wins and purse earnings in excess of $21 million.