Stewart and Lilibeth Elliott pulled their son’s 2010 Toyota Tundra into a little gas station off the highway last Thursday. Somewhere near the New York border, on their way from Kentucky to Saratoga, they cued the third race on the phone and watched the Rick Violette Stakes.
“People were looking at us because we were yelling like maniacs,” Stewart Elliott said.
The Elliott’s son, Christopher, settled Leon Blue in second, split horses in the stretch and staved off favorite Smooth Breeze by a neck to upset the New York-bred 3-year-old turf stakes. It was Elliott’s first stakes win at Saratoga.
“Great, the best feeling ever,” Christopher Elliott, 19, said Friday morning. “When I hit the wire, it was unreal. It’s hard for a bug to get a mount in stake races, to win one here at Saratoga…it’s a big accomplishment for me. I love it here. It’s the place to be. I want to try to stay here in New York, make a name for myself here. If possible. I feel like I’ve done pretty good so far, I just want to keep riding here and keep showing my face, keep winning and start riding for some bigger outfits and see what happens.”
Leon Blue provided Elliott with his last win as an apprentice. A week later, Zakat provided his first win as a journeyman.
Son pulled within 5,726 wins of Dad.
The 20th winningest jockey in history, Stewart Elliott is enjoying a three-week break between the Lone Star Park meet and the Remington Park meet. The Canadian-born veteran will be here for his once-in-a-lifetime horse Smarty Jones’ induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Aug. 1 and back to work by Aug. 8.
“Here’s the deal. My weight is good. I still feel good. And my business is good,” Elliott, 60, said. “I ride a lot for Steve Asmussen. I’ve been the leading rider out there for the last few years. Until things change, we’ll just ride it out. A little more. I used to go year to year, now, I go meet by meet.”
It was at a Del Mar meet when Christopher Elliott decided he wanted to be a jockey. His dad won a big race, and the kid got the bug. He had ridden ponies growing up, played basketball, baseball but from that day forward, there was only one path.
“I didn’t really think about being a jockey until I was like 14 years old. That’s when I started thinking about it,” Christopher said. “From there, I was watching the races and watching my dad ride all the time.”
Dad didn’t have much choice.
“Whatever he wanted to do, I never pushed him one way,” Stewart said. “He decided that’s what he wanted, and we went from there.”
Christopher moved to Ocala when he was 16 to gallop horses for his uncle, Richard Bracho. It was sink or swim.
“He got dropped a couple of times in Ocala,” Stewart said. “I figured he would lose interest, they go through phases but, no, it’s been with him, and he’s been wanting it ever since.”
One easy one to hack led to one easy one to gallop and away he went.
“I loved it. That sparked it for me,” Christopher said. “My dad was cool about it. He said, ‘If it’s what you want to do, try it, see how you like it and go from there.’ And that’s what I did.”
Stewart Elliott had a few rules. At least in his head, maybe not on the table.
“If he doesn’t have the talent, then forget it. Do something else,” Stewart said. “It looks like he’s got some talent, he wants it, and he keeps improving. I said, ‘You can have a great future. You’re off to a good start, just keep going and hopefully things will go for you.’ The thing for me is the danger, no one wants to see their kid get hurt, but at the same time, if that’s what he wants to do, what do you do?”
You share a jocks’ room at Lone Star Park when your kid starts riding in 2024. You watch every race he rides live or at least on replay. You call him every day and talk about every race. And, sure, you drive a hand-me-down pickup to Saratoga to pick up his tires and rims off a boat trailer and take them home to your farm in Kentucky.
“We’re proud of him, he’s doing well, it’s exciting,” Stewart said. “Yeah, I see a little bit of me in him. A little bit.”
Christopher rode five races at Saratoga Friday. He’ll ride three at Del Mar Saturday, four at Saratoga Sunday, two at Finger Lakes Monday, three at Saratoga Wednesday.
“I like it. I like to ride every day if I can. Keeps me going. I just want to win, the more horses the better,” Christopher said after riding 11 horses Friday morning. “This is what I chose to do, and I want to try to have the longest career I can. My dad has been doing it for 45 years now, since he was a young kid. I want to try to do the same thing if I can. If I’m fortunate enough to, then it would be great.”
And to win a stakes at Del Mar?
“It would be very cool,” Christopher said “Full circle. That’s where it all started for me. It was very cool, just because all the owners were there, everyone was so excited, my dad had a big smile on his face. Just one of those cool feelings that you get after something good happens. Five years. It went by quick.”
