Alex Cruz Wrapping Up Fifth Straight Title

 

ALEX CRUZ ZEROES IN ON FIFTH STRAIGHT TITLE

AUBURN, Wash. (Sept. 9, 2024) – Who says that sports dynasties are dead?

Certainly not fans and horsemen at Emerald Downs, where Alez Cruz is rewriting the record book at the suburban Seattle track. Heading into closing weekend of the 2024 season, Cruz leads Kevin Krigger by 19 wins, 64-45, and all but officially has clinched an unprecedented fifth straight riding title.

Since opening its gates in 1996, Emerald Downs has produced a strong roster of leading riders, including Washington Hall of Famers Juan Gutierrez, Gallyn Mitchell, and Ricky Frazier, along with top talents like Kevin Radke, Leslie Mawing, Rocco Bowen, Julien Couton and Krigger. At Emerald, Bowen set the previous record of three straight titles (2016-18) and only one rider—Robert Howg at Yakima Meadows in the 1970s—had won four straight titles at a Washington track.

Since arriving four years ago, Cruz has averaged a remarkable 1.58 wins per day including 115 days with multiple wins. How he even got to Emerald Downs is a story. It was during the Covid-19 pandemic when tracks were scrambling to resume operations that Cruz drove from Phoenix to Tulsa, only to be informed upon arrival that out of state jockeys would not be allowed to ride in Oklahoma due to Covid restrictions.

A phone call from agent David Marbles Singer changed everything.

“Marbles promised me that I’d be one of the top three riders (at Emerald). I said, ‘Are you sure, I’ll be new there, nobody will know me.’ ”

Cruz drove 2,000 miles to Emerald Downs, and it didn’t take long for everyone to figure out that indeed he was talented. By the end of 2020, Cruz had 72 wins in 38 days and won the title in a rout. Aside from 2021, when he edged Julien Couton by a single win, Cruz has pretty much wrapped up the riding title by mid-season.

The 2024 riding colony might be the most talented Emerald Downs has had in years, including 2024 Turf Paradise champion Karlo Lopez, Luis Reyes, Carlos Montalvo, and former Emerald champions Gutierrez, Krigger, and Mawing. It’s also worth noting that Cruz has only five winners combined from the track’s top three trainers—Justin Evans, Blaine Wright, and Frank Lucarelli.

“The thing with Alex, nothing’s been handed to him,” Singer said. “He’s had to earn it all.”

Like all leading jockeys, Cruz is a workhorse, riding 338 of 409 races this season while leading in wins and earnings ($815,496).

“If I miss a race, I feel stressed,” Cruz said. “I want to ride the whole card. In Phoenix, I’ll ride four or five races a day, but at Emerald Downs I feel like it’s mandatory to ride every race. I’m the top rider here and I need to ride the full card.”

A 31-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Cruz comes from a racing family. His father owns racehorses, two brothers are trainers, and his mother has gradually come to accept her youngest son’s chosen profession.

Standing 5 feet 9, and weighing 119 lbs., Cruz is easy to spot, towering over his mount in the controlled chaos that is a Thoroughbred race. And if you watch enough races at Emerald Downs, one thing is crystal clear—Cruz has a relentless desire to win.

Does he ever get tired?

“Physically, sometimes,” he said. “Mentally, every single day. Dealing with horses is not easy. You want to keep your peace of mind to do your job the right way. But I always try, no matter what is happening in my life, to do my job well. I’m lucky and blessed to have done well my entire career.”

Although he enjoys riding winters at Turf Paradise, Cruz appreciates the ambiance of Emerald Downs.

“The facilities here are almost perfect and the crowds are great,” he said. “If the purses increase a little bit more, this (stable area) will be packed.”

To commemorate his fifth straight title, Emerald Downs plans to present Cruz a special gift during Sunday’s closing day program.

Cruz and Blazingbellablu teamed for six stakes wins

ALEX CRUZ
Age: 31
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 119 lbs.
Wife: Jaymie Pearman Cruz
Emerald Downs Titles: 2020 (72 wins), 2021 (75), 2022 (90), 2023 (69), 2024 (64 thru Sept. 8)
5 Win Days: 4, most recent Aug. 6, 2023
Turf Paradise Title: 2019-20 (75 wins)
Emerald Downs Wins: 371 wins, 1,833 mounts, 20.2 percent, $4,752,862 purses
Career wins: 933
Emerald Downs Record: 46 consecutive days with at last one win (Sept. 1, 2020-July 18, 2021)
Other Tracks: Top 10 finishes Mountaineer Park (2016 & 2017), 1st in win percentage (22.5) and third in wins Assiniboia Downs (2019) despite missing half the season
2023 Lindy Award: For sportsmanship and accomplishment as voted by Emerald Downs jockeys
First career win: July 11, 2013, Finger Lakes, 51-1 Nihil Sine Labore Chart