With just a few race days remaining in 2024, New York Racing Association publicity recently caught up with jockey Dylan Davis to talk about his season in which he posted a personal-best $16 million in purse earnings.
Davis topped the Aqueduct Racetrack winter and Belmont at the Big A fall meets, and is currently in the mix for the title at the Aqueduct fall meet with 27 wins—just four shy of the leading Manny Franco. Davis is quick to credit his agent Michael Migliore, and the pair recently announced that Davis will be taking his talents to Gulfstream Park to start 2025 at its Championship Meet.
Q: Does it feel like a breakthrough year?
DD: It has been incredible. Me and my agent, Mike Migliore, put a lot of hard work in. It's been maybe eight years now together, and we stuck our heads to the grindstone. Through all the winters here at Aqueduct ... this feels like a breakthrough year. I have had a lot of success here, I really jumped at the right time at Saratoga, finishing third overall. It's always been a steady climb, but I feel like this past summer was really huge for me.
I always set the goal for myself to beat my previous year, but this was a huge step up, we found some good horses and a lot of babies. I have an opportunity to go to Florida for the wintertime, so I'm taking that chance and hopefully continue on pushing for a better year next year.
Q: What was the moment of the year for you?
DD: That career breakthrough of 200-plus wins for the first time for me. All the horses I ride, I give a lot of credit to them. They always put their heart out there for me and all the trainers, everybody, all the horsemen, that put their hard work in for the horses to get ready. I feel blessed for that, honored and can't thank enough all those horses that have been running hard—but Carson's Run, I've been with him from the beginning and that Saratoga grade 1, I think tops the chart for this year.
Q: Horses took you all over, notably Pandagate to Dubai for the UAE Derby (third) at Meydan Racecourse, and multiple horses to Del Mar in California including for the Breeders' Cup. How was all the travel?
DD: That was my first time to Dubai. I've always wanted to travel and I always take those chances. I finished third there, that was a lot of fun. That's what happens when you find some horses to take you to special places. Hopefully, I can continue on to Saudi Cups someday. You know, I have all these different places that you can still travel to.
Q: What is your ultimate career goal? An Eclipse Award? Winning a certain race?
DD: I've always thought it would be difficult after my bug year to win an Eclipse Award, but the way things are going, I can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel there. I don't push too many difficult goals onto myself. As far as going to Florida, I'm trying to find a Kentucky Derby horse, Oaks horse—to be a regular in those classic races. I've always wanted to win the Belmont Stakes back here at home, so that would be right next to the Kentucky Derby, of course.
Q: You seem to have some of the sport's top trainers in your corner such as Hall of Famer Mark Casse, how does it feel to have earned that trust and respect?
DD: Mark kind of threw my way that if I were to ever come down to Florida, he would support me. He just thought, 'let's see what happens if you come down to ride full time.' This was about a month ago, I had Mike (Migliore) call around and get a little bit of feelings from other trainers that we've been riding for, particularly for horses from trainers that come back to New York so we don't lose too much business. I ride a lot for Mark, Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher, Saffie Joseph, Jr., so that definitely makes the decision a lot easier to try out.
Q: You come from a family of jockeys. Your father, Robbie, won multiple grade 1s, and your sisters Katie and Jackie both have more than $1 million in earnings this year. When everyone is together around the holidays, what is the chatter like?
DD: We're always trying to improve as a rider for our family, I try to give them some tips, they give me tips and stuff, but we're all doing our own thing and they're just really happy for me to see a lot of the success that I have.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
