Saratoga Springs, NY (My Sportsbook) - Six new members of the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame have been inducted as part of the 53rd class. The ceremony took place Monday morning at the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs.
Renowned equine orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dean Richardson, who led the team that treated Barbaro, was the guest speaker at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The new members are jockeys Edgar Prado and Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela, trainer Carl Nafzger along with former champion thoroughbreds Manila, Inside Information and Ancient Title.
Ismael Valenzuela, better known as Milo during a career that included 2,545 wins, was inducted in a special ceremony at Santa Anita on Sunday, June 22.
Valenzuela, 73, was unable to travel to Saratoga Springs for the annual induction ceremony because of illness. The Santa Anita ceremony was the first since the Hall of Fame was formed in 1955 to be held outside of Saratoga Springs, according to a statement from the Hall.
Valenzuela rode from 1951 through 1980. He finished in the top ten in purse money won in a season nine consecutive years, from 1956 to 1964. During his career, he rode 2,545 winners from 21,203 mounts to earn purse money of $20,122,760.
In 1958, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness with Tim Tam. Ten years later, he completed the Derby-Preakness double with Forward Pass. He was a regular rider of Hall of Famer Kelso and they won 22 stakes together.
Prado gained international acclaim in 2006 with his Kentucky Derby-winning ride aboard Barbaro and his actions two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes when Barbaro suffered a career ending injury.
The 40-year-old Prado is a native of Peru and has compiled more than 6,000 victories and earnings of better than $202 million. He was the winning jockey of the 2002 and 2004 Belmont Stakes -- both times preventing Triple Crown sweeps by War Emblem and Smarty Jones, respectively.
This year Prado has earnings of more than $10.8 million with 132 wins in 755 races.
Nafzger won the 1990 Run for the Roses with Unbridled and last year's Kentucky Derby with 2006 two-year-old male champion Street Sense. The 66-year-old Texas native is approaching 1,200 wins and has earnings of better than $50 million.
Manila won the 1986 Breeders' Cup Turf, which helped him to that year's Eclipse Award as champion male turf runner. He won 12 of 18 lifetime starts for $2.7 million for owner Bradley Shannon and trainer Leroy Jolley.
Inside Information was the 1995 champion older filly or mare for owner Ogden Phipps. Trained by Shug McGaughey, Inside Information won the Breeders' Cup Distaff in 1995 and finished her career with $1.6 million in earnings with 14 wins in 17 races.
"She had a wonderful record," said Ogden Mills Phipps of Inside Information. "She had the two qualities of speed and endurance. She could carry that speed over a distance of ground, which is what made her special."
Ancient Title was bred and owned by the late William and Ethel Kirkland. He competed for seven seasons, from 1972 to 1978, and won 24 of 57 starts - 20 of them stakes - earning $1,252,791. At the time of his retirement he ranked 10th in career earnings.
As a five-year-old in 1975, he won the Californian and Hollywood Gold Cup while spotting the competition weight. Though Ancient Title primarily raced in California, trainer Keith Stucki brought him to the East in 1975 for three major events. He won the Whitney Handicap by a neck over Group Plan, who was carrying 13 fewer pounds. He was third by two lengths to Wajima in the Governor Stakes while conceding 15 pounds and was third to Wajima and Forego in the Marlboro Cup while again conceding weight to the winner.
