Manny Ycaza
Panamanian American jockey
Died when: 80 years 165 days (965 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
Manuel Ycaza (born Carlos Manuel De Ycaza;February 1, 1938 – July 16, 2018) was a Panamanian American jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States.
De Ycaza began riding ponies at age six and by age fourteen was riding professionally in Panama.He went on to race in Mexico City before emigrating to the United States in 1956.
Within a few years "Manny Ycaza" was winning major races at tracks all over the country.However, the hard-riding, fiery-tempered Ycaza was frequently in trouble with racing officials and despite his unquestioned ability, after major suspensions many owners and trainers were reluctant to hire him.
However, stable owner Harry F.Guggenheim took a chance on Ycaza, hiring him for the 1959 racing season.Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable was one of the major Thoroughbred racing operations in the U.S. and Ycaza's ten-year affiliation with them saw him become one of the country's top jockeys and be voted the 1964 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award by his peers.
An icon in his country of birth, Ycaza's success inspired other diminutive Panamanian youngsters to pursue a career as a jockey.
In 1962, Sports Illustrated magazine published an article about the "Spanish invasion" of American Thoroughbred horse racing led by Ycaza.
