Jockey Joe Rocco

Born: 12/08/1959, Brooklyn, N.Y.  Resides: Newcastle, Del.  Family: Debra, wife; Tiffany, Courtney, Brittany, daughters; Joe, Jr. son

"It has been a wonderful career. I am still enjoying everything," said Joe Rocco, who is 48 and riding at Oaklawn for the first time. "I really like this track and I like Hot Springs."

He said he decided to come to Oaklawn Park this year, because he rides regularly at Delaware Park. A number of stables now at Oaklawn will race at Delaware later this year.

Rocco first came on the race track at Aqueduct and was an apprentice in 1979.

"That was really a good apprentice class. I won 224 races and got lost in the shuffle,” he noted.

Cash Asmussen won the Eclipse Award as the top apprentice riding on the tough New York circuit while his mounts earned more the $2 million in purses.

"My dad, Jim Rocco, worked for Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, so I went to work for the same stable,” recalled Rocco.

Rocco used to gallop Onion, who had gained fame by defeating the great Secretariat.

Rocco recalls winning five stakes each on Belongs to Joe and Sensitive Prince.

"King's Fashion, Adore The Gold and Peak Maria's Way were other quality horses that I've ridden,” he recalled.I won every worthwhile stakes in Maryland except the Preakness and Pimlico Special," he said.