He\u2019s a track junkie.<\/p>\n
One minute, he\u2019s talking excitedly about his time in the spotlight as one of the nation\u2019s premier jockeys.<\/p>\n
The next, with the speed of an auctioneer on a double-shot caffeine kick, he\u2019s colorfully divulging how being a trainer gives him a rush like no other.<\/p>\n
Whether it be riding, training or owning, one thing about Vann Belvoir remains paramountly clear: the man has a passion for horses that comes out of his mouth with every adrenaline-laced syllable.<\/p>\n
Always has, always will.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that passion that drove Belvoir, a history maker on a number of local fronts, to drop out of Kentwood High in 1990 after only his sophomore year to pursue dreams as a jockey. It\u2019s what drove him to places like Kentucky, Texas and Arizona simply to satiate what has become an unquenchable thirst.<\/p>\n
And, ultimately, it\u2019s one of the key elements that has brought Belvoir back home, where he returned a little more than a month ago and is now part-owner and full-time trainer at West Coast Training Center near Flaming Geyser Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gets boring looking at the same horses over and over again,\u201d concedes Belvoir, who moved from his farm in Texas with wife Sauci and their two children, Ace, 5, and Jade, 4. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s why we\u2019ve moved so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
This move, however, was done with family in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my clients were up here. My mom and dad (noted trainer Howard Belvoir) were up here and my wife\u2019s parents live in Idaho,\u201d the 34-year-old Belvoir explained. \u201cWe just figured it would be nice to be close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what\u2019s even nicer these days for Belvoir is his recent claim of Schoolin You, a 5-year-old gelding he believes can make an immediate impact at Emerald Downs. Belvoir claimed Schoolin You for $20,000 \u2014 a bargain-basement price for a gelding of this caliber \u2014 with an eye on Sunday\u2019s 73rd running of the $300,000 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere in the world can you get a horse for $20,000 three weeks before a $300,000 race that has a chance?\u201d asked Belvoir, who claimed Schoolin You from the Jim Penney barn.<\/p>\n
In fact, Belvoir figures his horse already has a victory. During the annual breakfast to draw post positions for the Mile, Schoolin You, who ran fourth in last year\u2019s Mile, first had to win a special drawing with Maxey Boy just to get into the race. A total of 13 horses were entered, but only 12 spots are available in the gate. Rules stipulate that the lowest-weighted horses (both were assigned 110 pounds) must draw to see who gets in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were on pins and needles the whole time,\u201d Belvoir said. \u201cThat was like a win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Common bonds<\/b><\/p>\n
While family played a big role in Belvoir\u2019s decision to return, so too did horses.<\/p>\n
However, it took a little convincing from longtime friend and new business partner Keith Swagerty for the one-time wrestling standout and star jockey to find his way back.<\/p>\n
The two were introduced at a Mariner game more than a decade ago and quickly formed a bond through baseball, country music and horses.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t until this past June, when Swagerty purchased the training center, that he had the necessary bait to draw Belvoir back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be available or interested,\u201d Swagerty said.<\/p>\n
Available? Interested?<\/p>\n
When it comes to horses or his own schedule, Belvoir always has been the type of guy who does what he wants, when he wants and makes no apologies for it. It\u2019s that no-nonsense, confident-but-not-cocky personality that left an indelible impression on the Kentwood wrestling mat nearly two decades after his first \u2014 and only \u2014 prep season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an impression that many in the local wrestling community still talk about. Because to this day, Belvoir and Jason Cleverly remain the only teammates in Washington history to meet in the state championship. Cleverly got the better of Belvoir on that particular February afternoon in 1990, claiming the 101-pound title, then went on to become Kentwood\u2019s lone three-time state champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was more mentally into horses at the time,\u201d admits Belvoir, who beat Cleverly in double-overtime a couple weeks earlier. \u201cI was beat before I went into the match. I was riding (horses) all weekend and wrestling all week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even 18 years later, Belvoir is not ready to relent to Cleverly \u2014 or to anyone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was probably as good or better than him,\u201d notes Belvoir, who won his first race as a jockey at Yakima Meadows a few months before that championship bout.<\/p>\n
A star is born<\/b><\/p>\n
Belvoir\u2019s heart was with horse racing.<\/p>\n
Not wrestling. And certainly not school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have cried when he told me he wasn\u2019t coming back,\u201d former Kentwood coach Lee Reichert said. \u201cBut, there was no question in my mind that Vann was going to be successful in horse racing. … He was meant to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed.<\/p>\n
Between 1989 and 1996, Belvoir won 1,353 races. During his final year of riding, he was the leading jockey at the inaugural Emerald Downs meeting with 148 wins, a total that put him among the top five jockeys in the nation and a number that was not surpassed until last year.<\/p>\n
Not bad for a high school dropout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed what I was doing and I didn\u2019t like school anyway,\u201d said Belvoir, who became accustomed to cutting considerable weight for both sports. \u201cSchool, in my opinion, you don\u2019t learn anything. How many kids at 16 are writing checks, paying agents?\u201d<\/p>\n
But riding came at a price for Belvoir. At 5-foot-8 and competing at 121 pounds during his jockey days, he always was bigger and heavier than his peers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I had to pull so much weight was because I had to hydrate myself or die,\u201d he said. \u201cWhatever I put in my body would double in weight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Success follows<\/b><\/p>\n
Weight limitations cost Belvoir his career as a jockey.<\/p>\n
But he has no regrets about retiring from that aspect of the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss the good horses,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the everyday grind of pulling weight? No. It\u2019s like anything. If you start driving a good car and they want you to drive a bad one, it\u2019s not fun anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, he simply and quickly changed directions.<\/p>\n
Less than a year after hanging up the reins, Belvoir won the training title at Emerald Downs\u2019 only winter meeting in 1996-97. Since then, he has campaigned horses across the Midwest and recently saddled his 201st winner as a trainer at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.<\/p>\n
Now that he\u2019s back at Emerald Downs, Belvoir\u2019s banking on that same kind of success \u2014 along with the same break-neck, adrenaline-pumping feel \u2014 to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI bet some people like watching me more than the horses,\u201d Belvoir proclaims. \u201cI like having fun. What are you going to do? If you can\u2019t have fun, then why be in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
For a track junkie such as Vann Belvoir, it has always been just that.<\/p>\n
THE $300,000 LONGACRES MILE<\/p>\n
\u2022 WHAT: The 73rd running of the Northwest\u2019s richest thoroughbred race, a Grade III event.<\/p>\n
\u2022 WHEN\/WHERE: Tomorrow, Emerald Downs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 POST TIME: Approximately 5:38 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 ON THE AIR: FSN, 5 p.m.; KJR 950 AM.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LAST YEAR\u2019S WINNER: The Great Face (not running this year).<\/p>\n
\u2022 EARLY FAVORITES: True Metropolitan, Wasserman.<\/p>\n
\u2022 ALSO ON THE CARD: The $100,000 Emerald Distaff, 1 1\/8 miles, fillies and mares 3 years old and up. The field includes Shampoo, who has won five stakes at Emerald Downs, including the Boeing Handicap on July 27.<\/p>\n
The entries (post position, horse, jockey):<\/p>\n
1 Southern Africa Russell Baze<\/p>\n
2 Tropic Storm Aaron Gryder<\/p>\n
3 Luhuk\u2019s Dancer Kevin Radke<\/p>\n
4 Wasserman Jill Whitaker<\/p>\n
5 Schoolin You Gallyn Mitchell<\/p>\n
6 Diligent Prospect Kate Repp<\/p>\n
7 Nationhood Seth Martinez<\/p>\n
8 Flamethrowintexan Gary Baze<\/p>\n
9 Honour the West Leslie Mawing<\/p>\n
10 Assessment Juan Gutierrez<\/p>\n
11 True Metropolitan James McAleney<\/p>\n
12 Call on Carson Ricky Frazier<\/p>\n
Of note: For the first time, the winner of the Mile automatically qualifies for the Breeders\u2019 Cup Dirt Mile. That race will be part of Breeders\u2019 Cup Saturday on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita Park (Oak Tree) in Arcadia, Calif. … If Wasserman, one of the pre-race favorites, were to win the Mile, jockey Jennifer Whitaker would become the first female rider to capture the race. Kate Repp also has a shot, as she is riding Diligent Prospect. … Wasserman and Schoolin You finished 3-4 in last year\u2019s race. Diligent Prospect ran ninth. … The Great Face led from gate to wire in winning the 2007 Mile, the 17th winner to do so. … Flamethrowintexan won the 2006 Mile, hanging on down the stretch and refusing to be passed by runner-up Papi Chullo. Southern Africa was third in that race. Tex did not run the Mile last year. … Mile Weekend also includes today\u2019s $100,000 Washington Oaks, a 1 1\/8-mile test for 3-year-old fillies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He\u2019s a track junkie.
\nOne minute, he\u2019s talking excitedly about his time in the spotlight as one of the nation\u2019s premier jockeys.
\nThe next, with the speed of an auctioneer on a double-shot caffeine kick, he\u2019s colorfully divulging how being a trainer gives him a rush like no other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":11245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-11244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11244"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=11244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}