Gallyn Mitchell Heading For Glory
Emerald Downs in Auburn is a racecourse that is known for its spectacular live horse racing events and the fun and entertaining activities it provides for the public to participate in. This year however, most of the attention is being focused on one of the resident jockeys at Emerald Downs, Gallyn Mitchell. If everything goes according to plan for the jockey and his agent and wife, Denise Mitchell, he will be making racecourse history at Emerald Downs.
Gallyn Mitchell has been a jockey for twenty-seven years and has been interested in horses ever since he can remember. Growing up in Southern California his parents exposed him to rodeos and the movie industry, but for some unexplained reason, Mitchell always felt a strong urge to become involved in thoroughbred horse racing. Through a friend of his parents, at the age of fifteen Mitchell was given the opportunity to accompany a Kentucky thoroughbred racehorse owner across the country, and attend the racing events with the team. On his return, he was spotted by trainer, Frank Lucarelli, at Los Alamitos and Santa Anita, where he had started riding. Offering Mitchell the opportunity to work with him, and his then small barn, Mitchell jumped at the chance and in 1981, he found himself at Longacres. Here, he met his wife and they have been married for twenty-one years and have three children together.
Denise Mitchell grew up surrounded by horses, as both her parents were trainers and her brother is currently a trainer at Emerald Downs. She took over the role as agent and manager for her husband in 1995, working hard at trying to get him the best horses to ride. Even though many derided the fact that she would be the agent for Gallyn Mitchell, her determination and concern to promote her husband has paid off, putting the initial criticism to rest, permanently.
At present, Gallyn Mitchell has raked in more wins at Emerald Downs than any other jockey, with 975 victories. This puts him 25 wins away from being the first jockey at the racecourse to have 1000 wins under his belt. If he manages to rake in another $256 199, he will also be the first jockey at Emerald Downs to have reached purse money winnings of $10 million. His success has been extraordinary, and with a family that supports his every move, Mitchell is bound to reach these goals, before the end of 2008.
