Madison Olver

Assistant trainer Nikki Kaye was not exactly thrilled when she learned that Fire King (Palace Malice) was joining her barn. According to her best friend, jockey Madison Olver, the 2-year-old was appropriately named. Olver rode for Christophe Clement in the mornings and knew that Fire King had a big attitude and a major stubborn streak. The colt lived up to that reputation when he arrived at Jose Camejo's barn at Aqueduct. "He comes in and he's just shiny, gorgeous and muscular, but he was so mean," Kaye recalled. "He didn't...

Monmouth Park continued an upward trend by showing an increase in average total handle and average on-track handle for the third straight year as the 51-day meet came to a close Sunday. Paco Lopez claimed his 10th riding title and Claudio Gonzalez was the leading trainer for the second straight summer. The average total handle was $4,032,648 this year, an 11.4 percent increase over last year's average of $3,620,719. The on-track handle rose 15 percent to $340,257 compared to the 2022 average of $295,896. In addition, the average field size...

Despite the layers of cold water and powder coating her from head to toe, nothing could mask apprentice jockey Madison Olver's bright smile following her first career victory aboard Curbstone (Street Sense) in the sixth race at Aqueduct on Dec. 9, 2022. It was a surreal moment for the 23-year-old, who just five and a half years prior had never even witnessed a horse race, let alone set foot on the backside of a racetrack or exercised a racehorse. A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Olver was bit by the...