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Joe Talamo Ends Retirement, Will Ride at Fair Grounds

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Joe Talamo, who has not ridden since Oct. 4, 2024 and has worked of late as an analyst for FanDuel TV, will end his retirement at the start of the Fair Grounds meet, which begins Nov. 19

The news was released on X by Ron Faucheux, who will be his agent.

“Seventeen years ago, a 17-year-old bug boy from Marrero named Joe Talamo became the first apprentice to win a riding title at Fair Grounds,” Faucheux wrote on the social media platform. “This winter, that same jockey, now an Eclipse Award winner with over twenty-three hundred career victories and [a] Breeders’ Cup win, will return home. I’ll be proud to represent him at the meet. Welcome home, Smokin’ Joe.”

Talamo, 36, won an Eclipse Award in 2007 as the nation’s top apprentice jockey. He has piled up 2,343 career wins and earnings of $131,993,351.

He has won many prestigious races, including the GI Shadwell Turf Mile, the GI Santa Anita Handicap, the GI Shoemaker Mile and the 2009 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint with California Flag (Avenue of Flags).

There is one late addition that needs to be added to this list. Seventeen years ago, a seventeen year old bug boy from Marrero named Joe Talamo became the first apprentice to win a riding title at Fair Grounds. This winter, that same jockey, now an Eclipse Award winner with over twenty-three hundred career victories and Breeders’ Cup win will return home. I’ll be proud to represent him at the meet. Welcome home, Smokin’ Joe. @JoeTalamo @fairgroundsnola @FanDuel_Racing

— Ron Faucheux (@FaucheuxRacing) November 10, 2026

The post Joe Talamo Ends Retirement, Will Ride at Fair Grounds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Micah Meeks Wins Horseshoe Indianapolis’s Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award

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With 21 wins from 214 starts and earnings of more than $525,000 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, apprentice jockey Micah Meeks earned the 13th annual Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award during closing week of the 2026 season at the track.

From Northern California, Meeks got her first win at Sacramento in her sixth career start during the summer of 2024. Eventually working as an exercise rider for Eddie Kenneally, she’s also ridden in Maryland and Louisiana before moving her tack to Horseshoe Indianapolis this spring.

“I have to give a shout out to ‘Bugsy,’ my agent,” said Meeks about agent Jeremy Acridge, a former jockey in Indiana. “When I got here, he asked for my book. He had Joe Ramos, so it was a pretty easy switch to move to him. He’s placed me on some great horses this season and I appreciate his hard work.”

Meeks has been commuting the last two weekends to Del Mar and will spend the winter in California. She was presented with the Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award by Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, and Rachel McLaughlin, the track’s Racing Broadcast Production Manager.

The award is named in honor of 2014 Leading Apprentice Jockey Juan Saez, who passed away following a racing incident in 2014.

The post Micah Meeks Wins Horseshoe Indianapolis’s Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Joe Talamo Ends Retirement, Will Ride at Fair Grounds

---

Joe Talamo, who has not ridden since Oct. 4, 2024 and has worked of late as an analyst for FanDuel TV, will end his retirement at the start of the Fair Grounds meet, which begins Nov. 19

The news was released on X by Ron Faucheux, who will be his agent.

“Seventeen years ago, a 17-year-old bug boy from Marrero named Joe Talamo became the first apprentice to win a riding title at Fair Grounds,” Faucheux wrote on the social media platform. “This winter, that same jockey, now an Eclipse Award winner with over twenty-three hundred career victories and [a] Breeders’ Cup win, will return home. I’ll be proud to represent him at the meet. Welcome home, Smokin’ Joe.”

Talamo, 36, won an Eclipse Award in 2007 as the nation’s top apprentice jockey. He has piled up 2,343 career wins and earnings of $131,993,351.

He has won many prestigious races, including the GI Shadwell Turf Mile, the GI Santa Anita Handicap, the GI Shoemaker Mile and the 2009 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint with California Flag (Avenue of Flags).

There is one late addition that needs to be added to this list. Seventeen years ago, a seventeen year old bug boy from Marrero named Joe Talamo became the first apprentice to win a riding title at Fair Grounds. This winter, that same jockey, now an Eclipse Award winner with over twenty-three hundred career victories and Breeders’ Cup win will return home. I’ll be proud to represent him at the meet. Welcome home, Smokin’ Joe. @JoeTalamo @fairgroundsnola @FanDuel_Racing

— Ron Faucheux (@FaucheuxRacing) November 10, 2026

The post Joe Talamo Ends Retirement, Will Ride at Fair Grounds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Micah Meeks Wins Horseshoe Indianapolis’s Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award

---

With 21 wins from 214 starts and earnings of more than $525,000 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, apprentice jockey Micah Meeks earned the 13th annual Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award during closing week of the 2026 season at the track.

From Northern California, Meeks got her first win at Sacramento in her sixth career start during the summer of 2024. Eventually working as an exercise rider for Eddie Kenneally, she’s also ridden in Maryland and Louisiana before moving her tack to Horseshoe Indianapolis this spring.

“I have to give a shout out to ‘Bugsy,’ my agent,” said Meeks about agent Jeremy Acridge, a former jockey in Indiana. “When I got here, he asked for my book. He had Joe Ramos, so it was a pretty easy switch to move to him. He’s placed me on some great horses this season and I appreciate his hard work.”

Meeks has been commuting the last two weekends to Del Mar and will spend the winter in California. She was presented with the Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award by Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, and Rachel McLaughlin, the track’s Racing Broadcast Production Manager.

The award is named in honor of 2014 Leading Apprentice Jockey Juan Saez, who passed away following a racing incident in 2014.

The post Micah Meeks Wins Horseshoe Indianapolis’s Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.