April 25, 2024

Goldikova, Castellano, Espinoza, Gomez voted into Hall of Fame

Goldikova won 14 Grade/Group 1 races in all, including three Breeders' Cup Miles (G1). (Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos)

Two-time turf champion Goldikova and jockeys Javier Castellano, Victor Espinoza, and the late Garrett Gomez will join previously announced steeplechase inductees Good Night Shirt and trainer Tom Voss into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame on August 4 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion at 10:30 a.m. (EDT).

Based in France with Freddy Head, Goldikova won 14 Grade/Group 1 races, including three consecutive renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). Third in her attempt for a four-peat in 2011, she was voted the Eclipse Award as champion turf mare in 2009 and 2010.

Castellano, 39, who has won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey each of the past four years, has ridden more than 4,600 winners and ranks fifth all time in purse earnings with more than $276 million in a career that began 20 years ago. His most notable mounts include Hall of Famer Ghostzapper and classic winner Bernardini.

Espinoza,44, was the regular rider of two of the sport’s most notable starts in recent years: 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome. Espinoza also won the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) aboard War Emblem in 2002. He’s won more than 3,300 races with purses earnings of more than $193 million.

Gomez, who died in 2016, won 3,769 races with purse earnings of more than $205 million. He was a two-time Eclipse Award winner and won 13 Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2010 Classic (G1) aboard Blame while handing Hall of Fame mare Zenyatta her only career defeat in 20 starts.