Yo Adrian, I Did It
Just like the original Rocky movie when heavyweight boxer Rocky Balboa went the distance with Apollo Creed in his first heavyweight world championship bout, retired jockey Randy Romero finally feels like he went the distance in the Thoroughbred racing world.
Yo Adrian, Randy did it too. Randy Romero joined the elite of the Thoroughbred world in 2010 when he was elected to the National Racing Hall of Fame, an honor, which in my and a lot of other racing enthusiasts opinions, was long overdue. The induction ceremony was held this past summer during the Saratoga race meeting in New York.
Chances are, if you’re reading this blog, you know the storied history of Randy Romero. You know all about the riding records and riding titles, you know all about Personal Ensign, you know about Go For Wand, you know about all of the injuries he’s worked through, including the horrible “hot box” incident at Oaklawn Park and you know about the current health concerns that Randy is dealing with.
In this blog, I want to talk about the Randy Romero I know and love. Randy and I have been friends for a long, long time so I’ve been an admirer of Randy for a long, long time. I had the chance to work for Randy as his agent back in 1995 and 1996 and it was during that time that I got to know the inner workings of Randy Romero. He was not only a great rider, but an unbelievable “people person”.
Randy was my first “top” jockey that I ever worked for and it was during that time that I really learned how to deal with and handle horsemen. Randy was the master at captivating people, especially owners and trainers. Owners and trainers hung on his every word when he talked about their horses, and the best part of his “Cajun Charm” was that I don’t even think he realized that he mesmerized people the way he did. Many times I’ve told people that Randy Romero is one of the few jockeys that could, what I call, put people in the palm of their hand and get their undivided attention.
Randy’s charm went much, much farther than the race track. The first summer we were working together in Chicago at Arlington Park, Randy got us tickets to go see George Strait, a Thoroughbred owner who happens to be a country superstar. We had great seats, just a few rows from the stage, and needless to say, the concert was phenomenal. Randy met George a year or so earlier when he rode a couple of horses for him at Retama Park and George had become a victim of the “Cajun Charm”.
After the concert Randy decides we’re going to go backstage and talk to George, but we had one small problem - no backstage passes. There were literally hundreds of people screaming and lined-up that did have backstage passes and were impatiently waiting to see George. No backstage passes - no problem for Randy Romero.
Once again, Randy’s persistence and charm got us close enough to be stopped by George’s largest security person at the door of his meet and greet room. Randy told the large security person who he was and that he wanted to talk to George. The large security person said he didn’t care if Randy was the King of England, without a pass, he was not getting close to George. Just about the time I’m thinking this large security guard is going to practice his ju jit su or some other foreign pain technique on me because I‘m bigger than Randy, George Strait looks up and sees Randy and yells to the large security guard to let us all in, passes or no passes.
When Randy walked up to George it was like all of the other fans became invisible. All George wanted to do was talk horses with Randy. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed. At that moment, George Strait was not the star, Randy Romero was. That is one of my favorite stories of Randy Romero’s “Cajun Charm”.
I’m in the process of working on this year’s Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fundraiser and this year‘s event will include a special tribute to Randy and his Hall of Fame induction. The celebration will be held on Monday, March 14th after the races at the Best Western Landmark Hotel in Metairie. Tickets will go on sale in about a week for $30 each, with reserved tables of 10 available for $300. In addition to the tribute to Randy, the schedule for the night includes a buffet dinner, live and silent auctions, 50 / 50 raffle, door prizes and a dance contest with live music by Harvey Jesus and Fire.
Our goal is to raise more than $20,000 for the MacBeth Fund and I could use everyone‘s help to do that. If you or your business would like to donate anything to be used for our live or silent auction or as a door prize or if you or your company would like provide gift certificates as prizes for the dance contest or “Speedball Classic” jockey footrace, please give me a call at 504-382-9787.
The annual MacBeth Fundraiser is always special, but this year it’s going to be even more special because of Randy. If we can reach our goal this year and raise $20,000, then Randy and I will both be able to say “Yo Adrian, WE did it”.