Jockey Avery Whisman

For most of the sport's history the mental well-being of jockeys was not something that anybody talked about or even thought about. But the problem could no longer be ignored when, in 2023, two jockeys, Alex Canchari and Avery Whisman, took their own lives. They were otherwise young and healthy, but the pressures of being a jockey was a burden both, apparently, could not handle. They were not alone. Jockeys' Guild President and CEO Terry Meyocks said that 230 jockeys were surveyed last year and asked about their mental health....

Four days after his Forte (Violence) won the GII Fountain of Youth S. in his 3-year-old debut, co-owner Mike Repole was still beaming. At this point, Forte's lead-up to the GI Kentucky Derby has been perfect. There have been no hiccups and his race in the Fountain of Youth checked every conceivable box. So what did Repole, who owns the horse in partnership with Vinnie Viola, think? We had Repole join us on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to find out. Repole was this week's Green Group...

Jockey Avery Whisman, who rode in the Mid-Atlantic region after beginning his career in 2018, passed away Wednesday at the age of 23 after what his family described as a "prolonged illness." He was at his parents' home in Versailles, Kentucky at the time of his passing. Whisman had not ridden since accepting mounts Aug. 23 at Presque Isle Downs. Though Whisman had been ill, his mother, Salli, described his passing as "a sudden an unexcepted event." "He absolutely loved the sport," Salli Whisman said. "He was an incredible horseman....