DAVIS & DAVIS ISSUE 24_Jerkins feature.qxd 15/04/2012 22:05 Page 2
ROBBIE AND JACKIE DAVIS
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Robbie and Jackie Davis Few riders debut at Saratoga’s world-class meet. Jackie Davis did. Her dad was the first person to greet her when she dismounted, completely exhausted. Few trainers win their first race with their daughter riding. Robbie Davis did. He hugged Jackie so hard he almost pulled her off her horse. WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: WALTER KOBBE
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HARING such seminal moments has made their bond even stronger. Which doesn’t mean they haven’t had their confrontations, none bigger than Jackie’s decision to become a jockey, a profession Robbie mastered, winning 3,382 races and more than $115-million in purses, still the 34th highest total in racing history. He accomplished this despite enduring a dark leave of absence in the middle of his career and an ugly knee injury that ended it prematurely in 2002. “Growing up, my dad was my dad,” Jackie, who turned 25 on March 6, said. “I used to watch his races in the barn. I knew he was one of the best jockeys in New York, and that he won stakes, but I didn’t see him as anything other than my dad. I didn’t realize how great a rider he was. Now that I’m doing it, I can’t believe he got where he was, to achieve all of the things he achieved. It’s incredible. I dream of doing a quarter of what he did.” But something Robbie couldn’t do forced him to temporarily abort his riding career, withdraw from New York and retreat to his hometown of Pocatello, Idaho – where he’d begun working as a dishwasher and busboy at Buddy’s Pizza when he was 14 to help his family. He thought he could have prevented
“He’s better at being a trainer than being my agent…he promised me, ‘When you win your fifth race, I’ll become your agent.’ He never thought I’d win that many” Jackie Davis on Robbie his horse from taking his next stride in the middle of a race; that in some way it was his fault that Mike Venezia leaped off his falling horse and rolled directly in the path of Davis’ horse, who struck Venezia’s head and instantly killed him on October 13, 1988, at Belmont Park. After the race, Robbie hid in a broom closet. Then he hid out in Idaho. A fortuitous visit and subsequent article by the brilliant Sports Illustrated writer William Nack helped Robbie realize there was nothing he, nor any other human being, could have done to
prevent Venezia’s tragic death. Robbie eventually returned to riding, continuing his success, and in 1997 won the Mike Venezia Award, given to jockeys who exemplify extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. That same year, he was honored by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Long Island. After his knee injury, he moved his family to their 80-acre farm outside Saratoga. In 2008, he briefly served as Jackie’s jockey agent before becoming a trainer in 2011. “He’s better at being a trainer than being my agent,” Jackie laughed. “He promised me, ‘When you win your fifth race, I’ll become your agent.’ He never thought I’d win that many.” She fully realized his good intentions: “He didn’t want to see me get hurt. I’m a woman in a male-oriented sport.” Jackie was two years old when Venezia died. “I was too young to comprehend it when it happened,” she said. “I still haven’t read the article. I get a little nervous about it. From my first race, you know what your dad went through, and how dangerous it is, yet you still want to do it. It’s fun. It’s all I wanted to do. But if someone goes down and I’m nowhere near it, I still worry that I did something wrong. Then you have to go out and ride the next race. You have to get it out of your head.” She couldn’t get her desire to ride out of her
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