Q&A: At 74, Danny Ramsey not slowing down
While Danny Ramsey was in New York during the summer and fall, the well-known exercise rider has been a mainstay for years in Kentucky for trainer Kenny McPeek. Lynne Snierson writes this interesting Q&A for the New York Racing Association. (Coglianese photo of Ramsey after Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna won Saratoga’s DK Horse Acorn)
By Lynne Snierson
“I’ve got to eat my Wheaties before I get on Thorpedo Anna in the morning”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Just three live race days remain in 2024 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. To celebrate the season, the NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of trainers, owners, jockeys and racing personalities to share their reflections on the memorable year.
Exercise rider Danny Ramsey, who has been a mainstay in the barn of Kentucky-based trainer Ken McPeek since 2011, is a master of his craft and an integral part of the team that has enjoyed a year which can only be described as a dream come true.
Ramsey has played a vital role in the excellent campaign enjoyed by 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna as she racked up five Grade 1 wins, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and her only loss being a narrow second to the boys in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers in August at Saratoga Race Course. While winning 6-of-7 efforts and earning $3,653,050 in 2024, she captured Grade 1 victories in the DK Horse Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks both at Saratoga, after her dominating 4 3/4-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks.
Thorpedo Anna won the Kentucky Oaks the day before Mystik Dan, whom Ramsey also became the regular exercise rider for, brought the Kentucky Derby blanket of roses back to the barn.
Ramsey, the 74-year-old native of Nassau, Bahamas, first came on the racetrack there at age seven to clean stalls and then became a jockey on the Caribbean island at age 14. He arrived in South Florida at age 19 in 1970 and went to work for brothers Arnold and Albert Winick at their Delray Training Center, and following their deaths joined John Ward’s operation until that horseman’s retirement in 2011.
At 5’3” and a muscular 120 pounds, Ramsey keeps himself in extraordinary shape, mentally as well as physically. He credits his longevity in the irons to eschewing alcohol, tobacco, red meat, fried foods, soda and sugar. He holds black belts in Judo and Karate and the ordained Pentecostal minister preaches the Bible and serves as a spiritual advisor to those on the backside seeking his counsel.
Q: Are there other keys to your achievements?
DR: “I’m allergic to negative people. I have to get away from them fast. I’m faithful to my wife of 54 years, Eleanor. The first time I saw her it was love at first sight. We have five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. I also give credit to the love of God. I always stay positive, and I love to sing when I’m galloping horses in the mornings. ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and ‘We are the Champions’ are my favorite songs.”
Q: Where do you get your drive to still get up early every morning and get on horses?
DR: “I really enjoy it. I still have the passion. I love the horses. When you’re riding a nice horse, a stakes horse, it’s an honor and a pleasure. When you ride good horses it’s more fun. That’s the bottom line. I’ve been on some really good horses. I’ve really been truly blessed. I love working for Kenny. Not only is he a great trainer, he’s a very nice man. If I wasn’t working for Kenny, I’d probably retire. He’s such a nice person and his attitude and disposition are great. He always calls me his spiritual advisor. We have a great relationship and are good friends. I’m loyal to him.”
Q: In addition to Mystik Dan you’ve been associated with two other Kentucky Derby winners. What was that like?
DR: “John Ward bought Fusaichi Pegasus for $4 million for Mr. Fusaichi. I was training some cheap claimers [in South Florida] after Mr. Winick died and John came to me and said he had a problem. I said I see your problem, it’s Fusaichi Pegasus. He said, ‘Everybody says to me you’ve got to get Danny to ride him and get him to go. Do you think you can?’ I said, ‘Yes, I can. But John, you’ve got to let me ride him the way I think he should be ridden. He’s nasty and he’s getting away with a lot of bad habits.’ John said, ‘do what you’ve gotta do.’
“After I got him going right, he was one of the best horses I’ve ever been on. I went to work for John, who sent him to Neil Drysdale and he won the [2000] Derby. About six or seven months later we got Monarchos in the barn. I was his exercise rider, and he won the [2001] Derby. The rest is history.”
Q: Since you’ve been with Kenny, he’s trained several Grade 1 winners. Do you have a favorite among them?
DR: “Swiss Skydiver. She was the best horse. Until Anna. Now I think Anna is the best. I’ve been on a lot of good fillies, but she’s the best.”
Q: Swiss Skydiver was exceptional. What makes Thorpedo Anna better?
DR: “What makes her different is when I’m riding Thorpedo Anna I cannot hear her hitting the ground. That’s how light she is on her feet. Sometimes I would take my hair and push it over my ear to see if I could hear the track and I couldn’t. She just floats over the track. She really does. She’s like no one else. But she’s tough. She’s very aggressive on the track. Everybody tries to compare her to Swiss Skydiver, but you cannot. I could gallop Swiss Skydiver with loose reins. But her [Thorpedo Anna]? Forget about it. You can’t do that with her. She’s extremely tough and extremely aggressive. You’ve got to hang on tight. With Swiss Skydiver we won the Alabama and she was tough, but not as tough as this one. Anna’s the toughest filly I’ve ever ridden.”
Q: Kenny does call Thorpedo Anna “The Grizzly Bear.” Good name, eh?
DR: “They call her The Grizzly, but I don’t call her that. I call her My Girl. I told my wife, ‘I have another girl in my life, OK?’ She said it’s OK.
“There is a trick to riding her…you’ve got to stop her before she gets too aggressive and then you can’t stop her. That’s how I gallop her and that’s how I get along with her. The minute she tries to run off with me I stop her before she gets really, really aggressive. Then she’ll try me again. So I say, ‘Hey, you’re not going nowhere. You’re staying right here.’ Sometimes she listens to me, and sometimes she doesn’t. She’ll say, ‘I’m going to fight you.’ The more she fights me, the more I say, ‘You ain’t going nowhere. You stay right here.’ I’ve got to eat my Wheaties before I get on Thorpedo Anna in the morning.”
Q: As for training, Kenny kept Thorpedo Anna at Saratoga until the Breeders’ Cup. Were you driving back and forth from his Kentucky division this fall to get on her?
DR: “Yes. Saratoga is one of my two favorite tracks, with Keeneland, and it’s very special to me. It’s a very special place. The fans love it and support it. NYRA does a great job taking care of the racetrack. It’s a great place to train a horse, especially on the Oklahoma track. It’s unbelievable. She was doing so good on that track. That’s why Kenny kept her right there in Saratoga until it was time to go to the Breeders’ Cup. The driving was tough on me, but it was worth it.”
Q: Swiss Skydiver was the Champion 3-year-old Filly and Thorpedo Anna is a lock for the Eclipse Award in the same category. She’s also among the favorites for Horse of the Year. You were in the winner’s circle with her for every race so how special would that be?
DR: “It’s so exciting. It’s unbelievable. She’d be the first Horse of the Year for me, and it would be a dream come true. I’m going to go to the Eclipse Awards ceremony [at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida in January]. I’ve got to be there for that, and for her.”
Q: So, no retirement any time soon?
DR: “My wife keeps asking me, begging me, to stop, but I’m not ready. Anna is on the farm in Kentucky on a break and she’ll be coming back to us soon. I’ll be very excited to get her back. She’s special. She’s beautiful. I’m looking forward to another big year with her next year. Every time I think about retiring, I get another great one under me. I love it.”
