Kentucky Jockey Derby Winner Rich Strike Spends Most of His Career in Ohio

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – With all the talk of Rich Strike’s incredible victory in the Kentucky derby, there is little global connection between the race and our region.

From the alternative a few days before the race to the middle of the pack on the final leg, Rich Strike and his jockey Sonny Leon won by a factor of 80-1.

Many of Leon’s races took place on tracks in Ohio, including the Mahoney Valley racetrack outside Youngstown.

Here he learned to understand the horse he was riding.

“Everything was going right for him to win, in the 1/4 pool they parted and he just needed to get around the horse and Sonya was riding on it, he was patient. He knew to get any piece that needed to save the land, ”said Eric Reed, Rich Strike coach.

Next for Leon and Rich Strike are Preakness and Belmont Stakes, and two races complete the coveted Triple Crown.