Velazquez, Ghostzapper head racing Hall class
April 23, 2012SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) - Jockey John Velazquez and 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper have been elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame.
Also elected to the hall were trainers Roger Attfield and Robert Wheeler.
Velazquez, with more than 4,800 wins, was the nation's top rider in 2004 and 2005. He won last year's Kentucky Derby aboard Animal Kingdom and took the 2007 Belmont Stakes with Rags to Riches.
Ghostzapper won nine of 11 career starts and earned more than $3 million. In 2004, he was 4-for-4, including a win in the Breeders' Cup Classic in a stakes-record time.
The Canada-based Attfield trained three Canadian Triple Crown winners.
Wheeler won 1,336 races over nearly six decades.
They'll be inducted Aug. 10 at the hall in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.