Nik Juarez, third generation jockey
Nik Juarez, 22, grew up hanging out in the jockey’s room at the track.
- Nik Juarez a third generation jockey rides Saint Abbey in the 5th race at Pimlico on May 11th. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez a third generation jockey gets ready for a race at Pimlico race course. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez rides an exersizer outside of the jockey’s room as he wars up for a race. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez diplays his family tattoo. Nik Juarez is a third generation jockey riding at Pimlico race course. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik waits for his next race at Pimlico. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez a third generation jockey races at Pimlico race course. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez washes his face after a race at Pimlico. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik packs up is gear after the last race of the day at Pimlico and gets ready to head to New Jersey where he will ride at Monmouth Park for the weekend. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez kisses his fiance, Kara Evans, before leaving Pimlico to head to Monmouth Park to ride for the weekend. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez walks through the paddock prior to a race at Pimlico. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez rides Alex the Dude (1) next to Eric Camacho aboard Perfect Game in the 7th at Pimlico race course on May 11. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik weighs in before his race at Pimlico. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik watches the previous race on a television in the jockey’s room. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- A valet jokes with Nik before one of his races at Pimlico race course. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez enters the starting gate at Pimlico race course aboard Saint Abbey. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez a third generation jockey studies the racing program before each race to know what to expect from other horses. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez and other jockeys watch races from the jockey’s viewing stand as they wait for their races. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez heads out to the track at Pimlico. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- A sign in jockey’s room reminds them what they are there for. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez a third generation jockey smiles after winning aboard Scorpion Aly at Pimlico race course. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- Nik Juarez heads out to the track aboard #5 Mom’z Laugh at Pimlico race course. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
Photos and text by Lloyd Fox
He is a third generation jockey, following in the footsteps of his father and maternal grandfather. Nik graduated from Winters Mill High School where he was a four-year varsity wrestler. He began racing in 2013 and was fortunate enough to win his first race. “It is a great adrenaline rush,” says Juarez. “There is nothing better than hearing all those horses feet pounding the ground at forty-something miles an hour.”
Juarez acknowledges that horse racing is a dangerous sport. His father, now a trainer at Pimlico, had to retire in 2009 after being run over during a race and breaking several vertebrae. The younger Juarez has had his share of broken bones also. An injury during a race in 2014 caused him to miss nearly 7 months of the racing circuit.
With $1.49 million in earnings in 2016, Nik Juarez is ranked 49th of 1,168 jockeys. He has won multiple graded and ungraded stakes and has ridden in the Breeders Cup and the Florida Derby. Although he is not scheduled to ride in this year’s Preakness, he will be riding on Preakness day and hopes to someday ride in the Preakness Stakes. “I’m from Maryland,” Juarez states. “If I could win the Preakness here one day, that would be awesome!”