By Dick Jerardi
Bill Shoemaker, Johnny Longden, Eddie Arcaro, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Angel Cordero, Mike Smith, John Velazquez.
Those are just a few of the legendary jockeys that have been given the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award since Santa Anita Park began bestowing it upon riders in 1950. The award, named for the jockey who famously substitued for Red Pollard on Seabiscuit to win the 1938 Pimlico Special Match Race against Triple Crown winner War Admiral, is for jockeys whose “careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and for the sport of thoroughbred racing.”
Few epitomize that better than Parx Hall of Famer Kendrick Carmouche who won the 2025 Woolf Award after a nationwide vote of his fellow jockeys.
Carmouche is 18 wins from becoming just the 86th North American jockey to win 4,000 races. His mounts have earned $158 million, 39th all-time. Now, he is the latest recipient of an award that through the decades has gone to most of the sport’s all-time greats.
Carmouche, who rides regularly in New York, often rides a few races at Parx on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He was there this Tuesday and spoke about the award.
“It’s an honor,” Carmouche said. “It goes to show you all the hard work that I’ve put into the sport, a sport that I love, the Sport of Kings. My dad (Sylvester, also a jockey) loved this sport. I’ve got a lot of family that love this sport. With that being said, I was born to do this. This is an honor to be named among some of the greats in the game.”
Carmouche did not know much about Woolf which was understandable since the jockey was born in 1910, rode mostly in the 1930s and 1940s before his death in a racing accident at Santa Anita. Woolf, known as “The Iceman” for his coolness under pressure in major stakes, is memorialized in the Santa Anita walking ring with a statue near one of Seabiscuit. Carmouche will receive a replica trophy of the Woolf statue when he is honored this spring in a winner’s circle ceremony at Santa Anita.
“Bringing my family there is just to show the hard work,” Carmouche said. “It’s another step to show my kids to never give up in life. Keep fighting for what you want. I never expected this in my life, but my dreams did come true…We all have obstacles in life that we all have to go through. As a young man, I overcame that with a lot of good, loveable people around me.”
Born in Vinton, Louisiana, Carmouche is the latest in a seemingly endless supply of great jockeys from the state, a list that includes Eddie Delahoussaye, Craig Perret, Kent Desormeaux, Calvin Borel and Randy Romero among others.
“They start us from scratch,” Carmouche said. “We start from the ground on up. We have a horse in the backyard. We don’t have anybody teaching us how to do it, we get on horses, we go ride ‘em, we gain our trust in the animal. Once that (happens), we feel like we can transfer to being a professional jockey.”
Carmouche is now one of those Louisiana legends and in his mind, he is representing all those home state riders who paved the way. When he reaches 4,000, he will be thinking of all the places he has ridden through the years: “Charles Town, Louisiana, Philadelphia Park, New Jersey.”
He rides mostly in New York these days, but home will always be Philadelphia Park/Parx Racing. It was there that made him “the rider I am. I’m still growing, I’m still getting better at the game. I feel like the sky’s the limit. We still in it, we still can win it.”
