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09/02/2025 08:20
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    Jomar Torres, a jockey, is seeing the fruits of his hard work
Jomar Torres, a jockey, is seeing the fruits of his hard work
Jomar Torres. Source: horseracingnation.com

Jomar Torres, a jockey, is seeing the fruits of his hard work

Jomar Torres, 28, is a jockey with a lot of professional aspirations remaining to pursue in his career, but he only knows one way those goals will be fulfilled.

He therefore rides the cards at Penn National Wednesday through Friday after working horses there in the mornings from Tuesday through Friday. He works horses in the morning and rides in the afternoon at Monmouth Park on Saturdays and Sundays.

It is hardly unexpected that he is succeeding in both endeavours.

“This year I decided to ride two tracks full-time. It’s a lot of work. Monday is my only day off. But I love it,” said Torres. “I have always been a hard worker. Now I am seeing some of that hard work pay off.”

Torres is the third-best rider at Penn National going into race week, and he has riders in five of the six stakes races on the big Friday card. He had previously won a stakes race at Monmouth Park (the Spruce Fir Stakes with Mia's Crusade) and had almost won another one with a cunning front-end ride on There Are No Words, who finished second in the Cliff Hanger Stakes.

“The more you win, the more people notice you and want you to ride,” said Torres, whose next major goal is to win a graded-stakes race.

Born and raised in Caimito, Puerto Rico, Torres attended the Escuela Vocational Hipica Jockey School before deciding to pursue a profession as a blacksmith. However, he saw an application to become a jockey at Camarero Race Track when he arrived to learn about that trade.

In a year, he was riding and galloping horses. After deciding to travel to the United States in 2016, he lived in Florida, New York, and Parx before relocating to Laurel for a three-year stay.

They quickly established Monmouth Park as his home base after John Salamone joined him as an agent in 2018. Soon after, Chub Wagon and Torres rode to eight consecutive victories at four separate tracks, which caused quite a stir.

“He has a phenomenal work ethic,” said Salamone. “Just a great person too. He’s always willing to do whatever it takes to help his career.”

Married and a father of three, Torres made an instant impression in the United States, setting a record with 130 victories in 2017.

He had 66 wins total and placed sixth in the Monmouth Park rider standings the previous year. With forty victories so far this year, it looks like he will have his finest year since 2017.

“He is just one of those quiet, polite, hard-working guys who will do anything you ask of him,” said Marty Salvaggio, who handles Torres's book at Penn National. “Everyone says the same thing about Jomar. He has a great work ethic.”

Torres claims that his motivation comes from his desire to succeed.

“When you work hard good things happen,” he said. “Right now, I am having success. It’s fun when you see hard work pay off.”

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