Manuel Ycaza

Manuel Ycaza (born Carlos Manuel Deycaza on February 1, 1938 in Panama) is a retired United States Racing Hall of Fame jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States.

The son of a bus driver, Deycaza 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, Manuel 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.

In 1962, Manuel Ycaza married Linda Bement, Miss USA and Miss Universe of 1960. The couple had two children before they divorced in November 1969.

Read more about Manuel Ycaza:  Major Race Accomplishments

Famous quotes containing the word manuel:

    And Manuel embraced his mother and they laughed together: Délira’s laugh sounded surprisingly young; that was because she hadn’t really had the chance to make it heard; life was just not happy enough for that. No, she never had time to use it; she had kept it fresh as can be, like a birdsong in an old nest.
    Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)