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JoeBravoCard 

Joe Bravo

Sport: Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Born: September 10, 1971

Town: Long Branch

Joseph Bravo was born September 10, 1971 in Long Branch. The Bravos were a racing family—both Joe’s father George and grandfather Bartolo were jockeys and trainers. They followed the racing season from the NY Metro area down south in the winters and back again. Joe first started competing on quarter horses when he was a wispy 60-pound 13-year-old. He got his first thoroughbred mounts at age 17 in Miami Gardens.

In 1991, Joe became the first jockey to win titles at Monmouth Park, Garden State Park and the Meadowlands in the same year. Soon, Joe was one of the most revered jockeys at Monmouth Park. In the years that followed, it was whispered around the paddocks that not only did Joe talk the horses, but that sometimes they talked to him. He would win more than a dozen track titles at Monmouth over the next 20 years and 9 Meadowlands track titles.

He did so with plenty of help from doctors and surgeons, who put him back together after countless violent spills.

In 1997, at age 25, Joe won his first Grade 1 race, at Gulfstream, aboard Formal Gold in the Donn Handicap. He also won the prestigious Haskell Invitational at Monmouth in 2004 aboard Lion Heart. Joe’s first Kentucky Derby mount came in 2005. He rode longshot Spanish Chestnut out to an early lead, but could not keep up the blistering pace. In 2007, Joe won his 4,000th race.

In 2013, Joe returned to the Kentucky Derby hoping to ride Black Onyx. He had previously piloted the horse to a win in the Spiral Stakes at Churchill Downs. However, Black Onyx was a late scratch.

In 2014, Joe made headlines when he rode Danza to victory on the Arkansas Derby. The horse went off at 41–1. The victory got Danza into the Kentucky Derby, where he finished third. Joe rode Matterhorn in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, finishing a distant eighth. He capitalized on his impressive showings in early 2014 and began riding regularly at New York tracks.

 

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