News & Barn notes
Jockey Madison Olver On The Verge Of A Rare Achivement At Monmouth Park Heading Into Final Weekend Of The Meet
September 11, 2024
With Paco Lopez well on his way to an 11th Monmouth Park riding title there isn’t much suspense in the track’s jockey standings heading into the final two days of the meet on Saturday and Sunday.
But there is a chance for a little history for one rider.
Madison Olver is currently tied for seventh with 18 wins, one more than her total from a year ago at the Jersey Shore track, when she tied for 10th in the standings.
If she can hold her current position she will become the first female rider at Monmouth Park to finish in the top 10 for two consecutive years since Rosemary Homeister in 1992-93.
“I didn’t know that. That would be incredible,” said Olver. “It helps put the meet in perspective for me. It’s really cool.
“At the end of the day I’m happy when I have opportunities to ride nice horses for good people. That’s what brings me the greatest joy. That (finishing in the top 10 two straight years) would be really special. I would be ecstatic.”
Olver is already just the third female rider this century to finish in the top 10 at Monmouth Park, along with Ferrin Peterson in 2020 and Rachel Lavoy in 2000 (Melissa Iorio, currently tied for 10th, could join that list as well).
Making some history would augment a year that has already been a memorable one for the 25-year-old Olver.
At Aqueduct over the winter she won a pair of Grade 3 races (the Toboggan and the Tom Fool) with Super Chow, the first graded stakes wins of her burgeoning career.
“What made both of those special is that it was a horse I developed a connection with,” said Olver. “I was galloping him every day in New York when he was there. So it was really special to accomplish that with him.”
A late starter to the profession, Olver began her riding career on Nov. 12, 2022.
The Fort Collins, Colorado, native attended Colorado State University in her home town, though “half of my college studies I did in France,” she said.
“That’s actually when I learned to gallop horses. I lived above a stable in France,” Olver said. “I’d work in the stable in the morning and go to school in the afternoon and then come back and do chores in the stable. So I ended up staying there longer than I expected because I loved it so much.”
After graduating college, she went to work for trainer Christophe Clement, gaining enough experience and confidence, she said, to launch her career as a jockey.
A year ago, she won 45 races overall from 350 mounts. She currently has 31 wins overall from 232 mounts. Following the Monmouth Park meet she will ride at the Meadowlands, at Delaware Park and then in New York.
“The goal every year for me is to do better than I did the previous year,” said Olver. “I’m my own worst critic. So there’s a lot I feel I want to work on and improve upon. It’s a job where you learn every day.
“Nothing humbles you quicker than a horse. But they’re also there for you when you need them. This job takes a lot of work but when it pays off it’s really special.”
She said her goal right now is to continue progressing as a rider.
“It’s as simple as keeping the momentum going that I have now,” said Olver, who won with two of her four mounts at Monmouth Park last weekend. “I don’t want to have grand expectations. If I keep getting opportunities because I work hard and keep riding good horses for good people, that’s really my long-term goal.
“We all have hopes and dreams and aspirations of doing something great, but I’m elated with where I am in my career and how things are going.”