Oscar Villarreal wins Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Oscar Villarreal is the picture of patience. The 29-year-old jockey came into the meet late, but finished strong, accomplishing a lot of firsts along the way, including the meet’s recipient of the Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

The award is named in honor of Juan Saez, who passed away in 2014 following injuries sustained in a racing incident. He was later named the season’s top apprentice jockey, and the award was named in his honor.

Villareal, originally from Mexico, has been in the United States since he was 11. He worked at the racetrack growing up in Kentucky and eventually landed a job galloping horses at the Thoroughbred Training Center near his home in Lexington. He has three daughters, Adeline, Catalina, and Nathalie, and opted to place a career in riding on hold so he could focus on them while they were young.

“When my daughters were born, I wanted to stay close to them,” noted Villarreal. “Two years ago, I decided to give it a try and rode about 30 races but took the winter off to be close to my daughters and to make a living for them. Earlier this year, I started with Julio (Rijos), my agent, and my career just took off from there.”

To date, Villarreal has 35 career wins, 26 of which have been recorded this season at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He is ranked 11^th among all jockeys this season with purse earnings of more than $759,000. He rode at Belterra early in the season before committing to ride at Horseshoe Indianapolis full time in August.

“I’ve had a lot of firsts here this year and it has been a great meet,” added Villarreal. “I won my first stakes race for Devarus Douglass (Unbridled Slope in the $250,000 Unreachable Star Handicap), got my first riding double, and had a four-win day. Probably one of the most exciting races I won was the same day I won the stakes race. I was riding a horse (Secreto de Amore) for Tony Duran, and we were pretty far back, but he came running at the end and we won. That was very exciting. I’m really grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had here this year.”

As for the next step for Villarreal, he and Rijos have a plan.

“The goal is to race at Turfway this winter and come back here next year,” added Villarreal. “That way I can stay close to my daughters. I look forward to coming back and riding here again next year.”

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