Alex Solis

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Panamanian jockey

title: "Alex Solis" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-jockeys", "panamanian-jockeys", "1964-births", "living-people", "panamanian-emigrants-to-the-united-states", "sportspeople-from-panama-city", "sportspeople-from-glendora,-california"] description: "Panamanian jockey" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Solis" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Panamanian jockey ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox horseracing personality"]

FieldValue
nameAlex Solis
imageAlexSolisByPhilKonstantin.jpg
captionAlex Solis, 2006
occupationJockey
birth_placePanama City, Panama
birth_date
career wins5,035
race{{ubl
{{collapsible listtitle
awardsGeorge Woolf Memorial Jockey Award (1997)
honours{{ubl
horsesSnow Chief, Kona Gold, Beat Hollow, Pleasantly Perfect, Captain Bodgit, Victory Gallop, Brother Derek, Megahertz, The Pamplemousse, Irish Mission
updatedApril 13, 2007
::

|name = Alex Solis |image= AlexSolisByPhilKonstantin.jpg |caption = Alex Solis, 2006 |occupation = Jockey |birth_place = Panama City, Panama |birth_date = |death_date = |career wins = 5,035 |race = {{ubl|

Florida Derby (1986, 1997)|Santa Anita Derby (1986, 2006)|San Juan Capistrano Handicap|(1986, 1996, 2006)|Los Angeles Handicap|(1988, 1999, 2002, 2006)|Hollywood Derby (1989, 1999, 2002)|La Brea Stakes (1990, 2002)|Malibu Stakes (1990, 2000)|San Felipe Stakes (1990, 1992)|Del Mar Oaks (1992, 2008)|Hawthorne Handicap (1993)|Eatontown Handicap (2000)|John C. Mabee Handicap (2003)|Eddie Read Handicap (2001, 2005, 2007)|Bing Crosby Handicap (1988, 1998, 2000, 2001)|Pat O'Brien Handicap (2006)|Del Mar Handicap (1990, 1997, 2003, 2006)|Del Mar Debutante Stakes|(1990, 1991, 1994, 2005)|Del Mar Futurity (1991, 1994)|Santa Paula Stakes (1995, 1997, 2007)|La Cañada Stakes (1996, 2003, 2004)|Morris Handicap (1996)|Pacific Classic Stakes (1996)|Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (1997)|Wood Memorial Stakes (1997)|Yellow Ribbon Stakes (1997, 2005, 2009)|Santa Anita Handicap (1998)|Vernon O. Underwood Stakes (1999)|Providencia Stakes(1999, 2002, 2005)|San Gabriel Handicap (2000, 2003)|Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (2001)|Secretariat Stakes (2001)|Manhattan Handicap (2002)|Del Mar Handicap (2003, 2006)|Sham Stakes (2003, 2004, 2009, 2010)|Sunshine Millions Sprint (2003)|Carter Handicap (2004)|Metropolitan Handicap (2004)|Acorn Stakes (2006)|Eddie Logan Stakes (2007)|Las Cienegas Handicap (2008)|Gamely Stakes (2009)|San Clemente Handicap (2009)| Sham Stakes (2009)| San Rafael Stakes (2009)| Railbird Stakes (2010) |awards = George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award (1997) |honours = {{ubl|

Background

He grew up poor on a farm in San Carlos, Panama, where he spent a lot of time around horses. He visited a race track for the first time when he was 13 and by 14 was enrolled in a jockey school. After two years in jockey school and after becoming the leading apprentice jockey in Panama, he came to the United States in 1982 with only $700 and did not speak English. He began his American career at Calder Race Course in Florida, where he quickly achieved racing success and was given the nickname El Maestrito ("The Little Master"). He told interviewers that he worked to improve his English by watching television and listening to music.

Racing career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Alex_Solis_on_Leandros.jpg" caption="Solis on [[Leandros]], [[Santa Anita Park]], 2009"] ::

Solis' first rode in the Kentucky Derby in 1983 on a longshot named Current Hope, and did not place in the money. He rode the Derby again in 1986 on Snow Chief, who had won the Santa Anita Derby and was the morning line favorite, but again finished well back. The horse and rider went on to with the Preakness Stakes that year, marking Solis' only win to date in an American Triple Crown race. He was third in the 1991 Derby on Mane Minister, and also third in the Belmont Stakes on the same horse. Solis finished second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness with Captain Bodgit in 1997, second in the Derby with Victory Gallop in 1998 and second in both the Derby and the Belmont with Aptitude in 2000. His first Breeders' Cup win was the 2000 Breeders' Cup Sprint on Kona Gold. He won two Breeders' Cup races in 2003 with Johar (who finished in a dead heat) in the Breeders' Cup Turf, and the Breeders' Cup Classic on Pleasantly Perfect, both trained by Richard Mandella. He ended 2003 ranked fourth nationally in purse earnings with a career-best $16,304,252.

He won the 2004 Dubai World Cup on Pleasantly Perfect, In 2010, Solis rode Mandurah to a new world record for a mile on the turf at Monmouth Park, 1:31.23, breaking the previous record of 1:31.41 set by Mister Light in 2005 at Gulfstream Park.

His first two sons, Alex Solis II and Andreu Solis, both became bloodstock agents and purchase and sell horses for various clients, some of whom his father has ridden in races. In 2009, Solis won the Sham Stakes aboard The Pamplemousse, a horse who was part-owned by Alex II, and in 2012 rode the filly Irish Mission to victory on the turf at Woodbine to capture the Breeders' Stakes. The win marked his first ever victory in a Canadian Triple Crown race.

Solis' most serious riding injury was a broken back in 2004, when he was out eight months following surgery that included two titanium rods and eight screws. He has also had broken knees, fingers, toes, ribs and his left leg. He was one of the jockeys featured in Animal Planet's 2009 reality documentary, Jockeys, something he enjoyed doing, but felt that the end product did not accurately portray the life of a jockey. He commented, " They put more drama–or a different type of drama–into horse racing. The sport is already full of drama with all the hardships that jockeys have to go through, such as breaking bones. So they didn't need to add more drama."

In 2002, Solis was inducted in the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame. In 2010, Solis was inducted into the Panama Racing Hall of Fame. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2014 and earned his 5,000th North American racing win at Santa Anita Park on January 1, 2015, becoming only the 29th jockey in North American history to do so. His 5,000th win came on a horse named Lutine Belle, owned partly by trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and part-owned by Solis' son Alex II.

On April 30, 2015, Solis was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Horse Racing Board to fill the seat vacated by Bo Derek. His appointment must be confirmed by the State Senate. He plans to continue riding horses while serving on the board.

On November 26, 2017, he announced his retirement from riding horses and is currently working with his son Andreu and Matt Weinmann at Equine Analysis finding future G1 Winners and Champions.

Alex Solis has a son named Austin who is also a jockey.

Year-end charts

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Alex_Solis_at_Santa_Anita,_Jan_2009.jpg" caption="Solis in 2009"] ::

::data[format=table] | Chart (2000–present) | Peak position | |---|---| | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000 | 11 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001 | 8 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002 | 8 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003 | 4 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004 | 9 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005 | 14 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006 | 12 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007 | 35 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008 | 37 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009 | 30 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2010 | 66 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2011 | 28 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2012 | 91 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2013 | 77 | | National Earnings List for Jockeys 2014 | 175 | ::

References

References

  1. "Alex Solis". Equibase.
  2. Blood-Horse Staff. (1 January 2015). "Milestone 5,000th Victory for Jockey Solis". Blood-Horse.
  3. (2 January 2015). "'Grateful' Solis Stays Humble, Thanks Horses After 5000th Win".
  4. (24 April 2012). "I'm a Runner: Alex Solis". Runner's World & Running Times.
  5. (April 20, 1986). "The Derby Favorite : Jockey Alex Solis Is Cool Customer in the Hot Seat Aboard Snow Chief".
  6. "Alex Solis Graded Stakes". Equibase.
  7. (26 September 2014). "For the Solis Family, Racing is in the Blood(stock)". Paulick Report.
  8. (30 April 2015). "HOF Jockey Alex Solis Appointed to CHRB". The BloodHorse.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

american-jockeyspanamanian-jockeys1964-birthsliving-peoplepanamanian-emigrants-to-the-united-statessportspeople-from-panama-citysportspeople-from-glendora,-california