Trainer Robbie Davis Wants to Ride Again

Robbie Davis stood in the middle of stall 1 in barn 5, guiding a less-than-cooperative gelding backward. Davis placed the bridle on, tightened the saddle, and with the assistance of a bale of straw, gave himself a leg up.

“I just breezed this guy yesterday, but he feels so good I got to take him out for a jog,” Davis said Wednesday morning.

Davis, who won more than 3,000 races as a jockey during a 20-year career, was talking about the unraced 4-year-old New York-bred gelding Sandyinthesun. He also could have been talking about himself. Since getting a partial knee replacement done last December, Davis has been feeling as good as he has in almost a decade.

That and his passion to compete is why Davis – who hasn’t ridden in a race in nearly nine years – wants to make a comeback at age 50. While his plan is to ride again, he also wants to train horses. Davis’s first starter as a trainer will be Sandyinthesun, who runs in Sunday’s eighth race at Saratoga. Davis thought about riding the horse himself, but he’s not quite fit yet and said the emotions may get the best of him.