Parimutuels

Limelight shifts to another of the nation's top riders

With two-time champ Jesus Castanon a scratch for now, area trainers are jockeying for T.D. Houghton's services.

By DON JENSEN
Published December 10, 2005

OLDSMAR - He starts the morning with yogurt, orange juice and vitamins. He ends the day with his only meal of fish, chicken or salad.

A hunger for winning horse races has made T.D. Houghton one of America's top jockeys again this season. The Denver native ranks eighth nationally in wins and captured his third straight Great Lakes Downs riding championship recently in Muskegon, Mich.

The spotlight continues to be on Houghton today as Tampa Bay Downs opens its 80th season of thoroughbred racing. With the surprise announcement this week that two-time defending champion Jesus Castanon won't be riding at Tampa - at least for a while as he competes at Turfway Park, Ky. - Houghton is expected to be in constant motion.

At least 10 trainers have contacted Houghton's agent, Frank Garoufalis, about acquiring the services of the two-time Tampa riding champion. Tampa conditioners Gerald Bennett, Barbara McBride, Kathleen O'Connell, Lynne Scace and Lori Smock want Houghton on their horses. So do invader Jerry Hollendorfer, the nation's fifth all-time leading conditioner from California; Merrill Scherer, a newcomer from New Orleans; and Joe Woodard, who set a Churchill Downs record in June with 10 straight winners.

"If you're in more than six or seven races on a card, it's a lot," Houghton said. "But I'm very fortunate to have one of the best agents around."

Houghton, 35, has built a solid reputation in Tampa, where he will be competing for the eighth season. Besides capturing rider titles in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, Houghton has finished second to Castanon in victories the past two seasons and won a personal best 91 times in 667 mounts in 2004-05.

The 5-foot-6, 112-pound jockey has 275 victories in 1,470 starts this year. In statistics compiled by the Daily Racing Form through Wednesday, Russell Baze leads the nation in wins with 351.

But winning isn't the only thing on Houghton's mind.

"I really want to stay healthy," Houghton said. "That's a goal I have for this and every meet."

During his 18-year career, Houghton has sustained broken collarbones, legs, feet and ribs. But it was a spill at Great Lakes Downs in 2002 that changed Houghton's perspective.

A Bennett-trained horse Houghton was riding clipped heels with a rival. Both horses fell with the trailing horse hitting Houghton in the head. Houghton sustained a traumatic brain injury from contusions to the front and back of his brain.

"My doctors and therapists didn't believe I would ever get back to riding again," Houghton said. "At that point, my main objective wasn't to ride again, but to live a normal life."

It wasn't easy. Besides needing therapy, Houghton was going through a divorce, and his wife and two daughters were in Kentucky.

After a 10-day hospital stay, Houghton recuperated at his parents' home in Michigan. He had therapy three days a week for one year, and took classes in memory, speech and vision.

"My peripheral vision was gone and I had a lot of trouble whenever I turned my head or closed my eyes," Houghton said. "I had to get my equilibrium back."

Houghton recovered fully, missing 16 months of riding.

Bennett, the leading trainer at Great Lakes Downs this season, has been with Houghton on a regular basis since 1994. He said Houghton's gate work is hard to beat and appreciates his rider's competitive fire just as much.

"T.D. is always trying hard," Bennett said. "He has a great desire to win."

There's another desire Houghton tries to limit, though.

"Peanut M&M's and red licorice are my downfalls," Houghton said. "Whenever I eat them, I usually have to head straight for the hotbox. Gotta keep the weight off."

[Last modified December 10, 2005, 00:51:18]