Daryl Parker

Jockey DeShawn Parker scored his 6000th win aboard For Mama at Horseshoe Indianapolis Tuesday night. Only 20 other jockeys have reached that milestone. "This means the world to me, and I was riding for my dad, because I couldn't have been here without him," said Parker, who lost his Dad, Daryl, a longtime steward in the state of Ohio in the spring of 2021 to cancer. "He knew I was getting close to this milestone, but he never said much about any of the milestones. He's the one that kept...

John Herbuveaux and Daryl E. Parker were recognized as the 2021 Pete Pedersen Award by the Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming Awards Luncheon in Tucson, Arizona Tuesday. The award is presented to stewards who have demonstrated professional excellence, integrity, and benevolent consideration in the performance of their duties. Contributions of time and expertise to the horse racing industry on the local and national levels are also significant factors in the selection of Pedersen award winners....

He grew up on the racetrack, mainly at the old Latonia, spending many a morning and afternoon there with his father Daryl, who worked as a jockey agent, an exercise rider and a racing official. And everywhere he went, Deshawn Parker saw people just like him. Young, Black and eager to make a name for themselves in the sport. It was the '70s and the '80s and at whatever track you went to, the majority of backstretch workers were African Americans. Today, they make up a small fraction of a...