So I opened up the paper this morning and saw that Jim McAleney won three of eight races at Woodbine yesterday. Not that I’ m surprised – McAleney has been leading the jockey’s race pretty well from the first week. But now that we’re into September, it should be noted that he’s having one kick-ass year at the track. His next win will be his 100th of the season which means at the rate he’s going, he could end up with about 170 trips to the winners circle. This morning, Jimmy Mac has a 25 win lead on runner-up Patrick Husbands among all riders at Woodbine. McAleney’s 99 wins have come from 469 mounts, giving him a win percentage of better than 21%, which in this game, is sensational. His horses have earned over $5,000,000, which is tops in Canada. It helps that he’s the go-to guy for Steve Asmussen who seems to have an endless supply of ready-to-run horses that always seem to end up in the right kind of races.
McAleney’s great season is all the more impressive when you factor in the gruesome injury he suffered just before the 2007 started. A horse flipped in the starting gate and McAleney snapped his femur. That kind of massive damage would change most people’s lives; McAleney returned to the saddle less than four months later.
To this point this year, Jim McAleney has had no discernable slump. There probably has been a couple of consecutive cards in which he’s been shutout, but I can’t remember. He shows up every day, rides hard and competitively and gives the bettor the best possible chance for the wager – he’s not only the winningest jock at Woodbine, but his in-the-money rate of 49% is the best of all jockeys.
I think what makes him such a great and succesful athlete is his mental state. Jim McAleney is perpetually smiling, he laughs easily and he always meets you with warmth and those bright sparkling eyes. The guy is happily married – wife Kim is a former jockey – as sane as you can be in a sport that can drive you nuts and he’s one of the most well-adjusted human beings you will ever encounter.
He’s also a sweetheart of a guy who understands how important the fans are. Several weeks ago, while delivering the latest issue of Down The Stretch to various locales at Woodbine, I was accompanied by my daughter, Emily and her friend Nadia. I asked them if they wanted to meet the nicest jockey at the track and they got excited. We waited at the finish line and after Jimmy Mac dismounted, we met him as he came off the track. He spoke animatedly with the little girls and had them laughing before he sprinted off to get weighed. We walked away, but moments later, McAleney was running after us with a pair of goggles for each child as a souvenir.
At the end of this year, the names of Canadians will be submitted to voters to determine the athlete of the year and while Adam Van Koeverdon, Steve Nash and Sidney Crosby are all worthy, I assure you that Jim McAleney will not attract the number of votes he deserves..
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