Yves Turcotte, who posted 1,347 career riding wins, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award.
The treasured Gomez Award is given to the person, Canadian-born, Canadian-raised or regular rider in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to Thoroughbred racing.
It is named in memory of one of the sport's most talented and respected competitors. The Cuban-born Gomez died of complications after a three-horse accident in the 1980 Canadian Oaks.
To commemorate his legacy and lasting contributions to the sport, a life-size statue of Gomez, who called Toronto home and raised a family there, keeps watch over Woodbine's walking ring.
A replica is presented to each year's recipient.
"It means the world, really," said Turcotte. "Anytime I could get the same award that [my brother] Ron [Turcotte] received back in 1984 is very special. I just wish he was alive and that we could share the same award - it'd be lovely.
"But I was very shocked. I never thought in 100 years that I would win this award. I'm ecstatic."
Hailing from the Turcotte family of racing royalty, Yves' connection to the game and its most memorable figures, including Gomez, was forged through his brothers: Ron, Rudy, Roger, and Noel.
"I've heard about Avelino from Ron, but I think all my brothers rode with him," said Yves. "They all said he was quite the guy. I never heard a bad word about him from anybody.
"He won the Plate four times and rode some incredible horses. He looked like quite the character, and that he was having a lot of fun doing his job. I'm over the moon to win his award."
Yves' life in the irons began in 1980.
The youngest of 14 Turcotte siblings had never imagined following his brothers' shared path, but after Ron's riding career was cut tragically short in a 1978 spill that left him confined to a wheelchair, Yves felt compelled to carry on the family legacy in the saddle.
"I only started riding after Ron got hurt," said Yves. "I started a little bit late, but I figured, 'Well, he can't ride anymore. I might as well give it a shot.'"
Getting his dual Hall of Fame brother on board took some slight convincing, but as Yves put it, "we all helped each other."
"When Ron heard that I wanted to be at the racetrack, he was in the hospital in Toronto, and he said, 'So, you want to be a jockey?' I said, 'Yeah.' Then he said, 'Are you sure?' I said, 'Yeah.' "After that, he phoned [jockey and Hall of Fame trainer] Lucien Laurin to see if he could give me a job on the farm. I didn't know how to gallop or anything. The last time I was on horses was when I was a kid at home."
Those memories from his days as a youngster in Drummond, New Brunswick, soon came full circle as Yves was back alongside his brothers, as an active member of the family business.
"There was Ron to start with, sending me to the farm. Roger was involved in getting me to the track, and there was Rudy in Maryland. We used to work horses all the time, Rudy and I. He would take me out and we'd go jogging, work horses, and stuff like that.
"Then I got to Toronto in 1982, and I got Noel to be my agent. He helped me that way. I would say Rudy helped me the most because I worked with Rudy more than anything, but all my brothers were always there for me."
His newfound life on the track was a far cry from the 60-hour weeks he once spent in frozen food shipping at the New Brunswick-founded McCain Foods.
Yves went on to make over 11,100 starts during his 17-year riding career, becoming a multiple stakes winner with standout victories in the 1988 Canadian Derby (G3) aboard Elmtex and 1996 Alberta Derby atop Letkingo.
In doing so, he cemented his place among his brothers.
"I wouldn't say I was as talented as them, but my whole thing was trying to work and work and work," said Yves. "It takes a lot of work to be a jockey. There's a lot going on behind the scenes. It wasn't easy, but I'm very proud that I did it as a jockey and now I'm doing it as a steward."
A head injury forced Yves into retirement in 1999, but the longtime steward, currently at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, was certain about where his next chapter would lead.
"I always told myself, 'I don't want to be a trainer, and I don't want to be an agent.' In my mind, I always wanted to be a steward. I knew that probably five years before I had to retire. I said, 'That's what I want to be.' And I've been a steward now for 17 years and I rode for 17 years.
"In my mind, that's a big accomplishment."
As Yves readies to accept the Avelino Gomez Award, a glance at the distinguished list of past recipients brought his mind back to the bug boy days of 1982.
"[Richard] Dos Ramos, [Jack] Lauzon, [Robert] Landry, [Robert] King Jr., we were all apprentices in '82. It was a tough gang to be an apprentice that year. They were all very, very successful. There were a couple more that aren't on that list, but everybody made a living."
For Yves, that living would go on to become his legacy.
"I only won 1,300 races and change, not like the other guys who won 4,000 or 5,000, but I've dedicated my whole life to horse racing and I'm proud of that. To see my name beside Ron's and all of them is surreal."
The Avelino Gomez Memorial Award ceremony will take place on June 27 at Woodbine.
Yves Turcotte joins Ron Turcotte, Johnny Longden, Sandy Hawley, Don MacBeth, Chris Rogers, Jeff Fell, Lloyd Duffy, Hugo Dittfach, Robin Platts, Larry Attard, Don Seymour, David Gall, Richard Grubb, Irwin Driedger, David Clark, Jim McKnight, Chris Loseth, Richard Dos Ramos, Robert Landry, Francine Villeneuve, Sam Krasner, John LeBlanc Sr., George Ho Sang, Jack Lauzon, Robert King Jr., Stewart Elliott, Emile Ramsammy, Steve Bahen, Mickey Walls, Patrick Husbands, Quincy Welch, Gary Stahlbaum, Gary Boulanger, Emma-Jayne Wilson, Frank Barroby, Eurico Rosa da Silva, Slade Callaghan, Russell Baze, Gunnar Lindberg, and JP Souter as Gomez recipients.
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