Off To A Good Start
With the support of trainers and his father, Saratoga Springs native Dylan Davis looks to exceed his personal best at Saratoga Race Course this year.
Like most jockeys, Dylan Davis has to work hard, get the right support to be competitive, and remain confident in his riding, especially at Saratoga Race Course.
Right now, that seems to be working for him.
Within the first 14 days of the Saratoga Race Course meet, Davis has a good start as a sixth-leading jockey with 11 winners and 13 others finishing either second or third.
That’s a sharp contrast to when Davis had just two winners in 2020 within that same time fame. However, those numbers improved with five wins in 2021, six wins in 2022, and nine winners last year – all within the same time span.
“It has been great,” Davis said. “I try to go in with a lot of confidence. The outcome, getting the winners early, has exceeded my expectations.”
Davis is also close to exceeding his expectations of total winners for the Saratoga meet after finishing with 17 in 2002, 18 in 2021, 15 in 2023, and 19 last year, which has been his personal best.
“I set a personal goal. I was trying to get to 19 [winners],” the 2011 Saratoga Springs High School graduate said. “I try to beat my personal best. I haven’t been focusing on what the other riders are doing. I am focusing on me. We aren’t halfway through the meet. Everything is going well. I’ve got guys behind me and support me.”
It didn’t take Davis that long to get his first winner of the meet. For his second mount on Opening Day, he guided first-time starter Punch the Clock to a front-running victory for trainer Raymond Handal. That followed with riding longshot The Queens M G to victory in the Schuylerville Stakes.
“It is incredible,” he said. “Saratoga-native and any win is special here, but to win the feature of the day is great.”
Just over a week later, Davis had a four-win day that included another Handal-trainee Union Dolly and two for trainer Mark Casse with Full Screen in an allowance and Pounce in the Grade 3 Lake George Stakes.
Even during the dark days of the Saratoga’s first week, Davis picked up another win by going to Finger Lakes where he helped Pandagate, trained by Clement, outfinish Doc Sullivan in the New York Derby.
“I try to stay available,” Davis said. “Going to Finger Lakes for guys who are [trying to get] a good shot are the guys who ride me since I am based in New York. They give me opportunities.”
Over his 13-year career, which included his first winner at Suffolk Downs in September 2012, Davis has slowly moved up the standings as one of the top 10 jockeys on the New York circuit while riding his fair share of stakes winners. He eventually took the New York riding title in 2022 with 186 winners.
Though, a lot of that success could not happen without support of numerous trainers, which includes Clement.
In Fall 2020, Clement had Davis ride Mutamakina in the Long Island Handicap in which they won. For the following year, Davis guided Mutamakina to victory in the E. P. Taylor Stakes and the Dance Smartly Stakes at Woodbine.
Last year, Clement gave Davis another opportunity with Carson’s Run, who won his career debut that followed with a close second-place finish in the With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga. A month later, Davis and Carson’s Run won the bet365 Summer Stakes at Woodbine that earned both a trip to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Davis and Carson’s Run reunite again for the Saratoga Derby Invitational as part of Saturday’s Whitney undercard.
Because of Carson’s Run, Mutamakina and several other horses, Clement had confidence in putting Davis on Pandagate for the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai as they finished third to Japan’s talented 3-year-old Forever Young.
“Clement has had a big impact on my career as of late,” Davis said. “If he wants me to go somewhere, I am available. He knows that. It’s not like I am going to say ‘no’ to him.”
Another person who has helped him is his father and retired jockey Robbie Davis. As a teenager, Dylan Davis wanted to be an aspiring motocross racer, not a jockey. With his father’s encouragement, Davis got on horse and enjoyed riding it around the paddock.
“With my father on my side, coach, mentor, everything, I knew he was someone who was going to give me true advice,” he said. “I knew he has been 100 percent on my side. That has been great to have as a top rider in New York. He has helped me to be professional – both on and off the track – and always think that the camera is on you all of the time. Then, you will never do anything wrong.”
Just like with the other riders, Davis knows it’s difficult to compete at Saratoga – both on and off the track. Along with the challenge of getting horses to ride, there is also the difficult task of making the right decisions on the track.
“It’s tough,” he said. “The other day, there were 34 riders in the room. Many of them had just 1 or 2 mounts. I was riding seven. It’s a matter of staying focused out there. I’ve been riding for almost 12 years. It’s trial and error through the years.”
“When I have been riding up here, every decision that I have been making has been working out,” he added. “Obviously, you need the horse to get the job done. Whether it is waiting, moving early, staying inside longer, or moving out early and getting the jump, all of those decisions has been all on cue.”