Dill sitting
pretty at the top
By Steve Anderson -
The Independent
March 6, 2010 - Don’t let the baby face fool you. Or the stylish pink boots.
Ashley Dill can ride.
The proof is in the pudding after two weeks of live racing. She’s the leading
rider at Fonner Park in Grand Island.
Need another opinion? This comes from a 25-year veteran of the the thoroughbred
race-riding game, and I’ll preface the following observation of Dill’s jockey
skills by suggesting that compliments from anywhere on a racetrack, backside or
front office, are thrown around like they’re manhole covers.
“So many jockeys override. Ashley has shown that indefinable thing called
patience and her horses have responded.”
That comes from Fonner Assistant Racing Secretary Wayne Anderson.
Dill’s agent, Randy Sweitzer, a 40-year veteran on the racetrack, is even more
succinct in his praise for the 19-year-old apprentice jockey. He paraphrases the
great Pat Day: “I was never the best rider in the country but I sure was a good
passenger.....that’s my Ashley Dill.”
Sweitzer should know. He’s represented some of the best jockeys in Nebraska
thoroughbred racing history, including hall of famers Perry Compton and Randy
Meier.
Young riders have been Sweitzer’s forte in recent years. Tanner Riggs and Chris
Fackler quickly come to mind.
“Just like Ashley, these folks are all light-weighted and sit extremely well on
a horse,” Sweitzer said.
Factor in an overabundance of enthusiasm and an eagerness to listen and learn,
plus a workaholic attitude, and suddenly we’ve got a new star on the horizon.
But the new-found success hasn’t come without a price.
Dill’s father, Michael, was a journeyman jockey. Her mother, Angela, has been a
groom, mucking stalls for as long as she can remember.
Growing up on the backside of Fairmont Park in Collinsville, Ill. — just outside
St. Louis — the young Dill has been around horses her entire life.
Dill says, “Dad threw me up on the back of a horse when I was 2 years old and
I’ve been riding ever since.”
Her voice rings hollow as she tells the story of her father’s untimely death
seven years ago. Afflicted with Lou Gehrig’s disease, Michael Dill died at age
42.
The struggle to survive led mother and daughter to Central Nebraska a little
over a year ago.
Rejection was the rule rather than the exception.
Dill remembers going to trainer Dave Anderson’s barn every morning. She adds, “I
offered to do anything (for him) but really, I just wanted to work or gallop
horses. Finally, Dave told me he admired my exuberance, but please, stop coming
around.”
Fortunately, Ashley didn’t take that advice. Steadfast and confident, she
continued to knock on doors, offer her services and let her riding do the
talking.
Trainers Marv Johnson and Mark Lemburg have taken notice. They quickly jumped on
the bandwagon and she has not disappointed.
Leading trainer Chuck Turco, who rides veterans Damon Leeds and Rowdy Luark,
hasn’t overlooked Dill’s afternoon efforts and figures he has a few horses in
the barn that might fit her talents in the near future.
As for Anderson, he’s contemplating an appeal of a three-year ban from racing
for alleged drug violations. I deeply admire the lifetime achievements of this
man. He’s my friend. I miss him deeply. He was — and still could be — a great
ambassador for the industry.
But time marches on.
And so does the rider in the pink boots.
Thus, for one week anyway, Ashley Dill sits all alone on top of the Fonner Park
jockey standings. Going into Friday’s action, Dill had seven wins for the meet,
one more than runner-up Jordan Olesiak.
Jesus Ponce, last year’s leading rider, was in third place with five victories.
Make no mistake about it. This baby-faced teenager can ride. And for now, that’s
all that matters.
Steve Anderson is the track announcer at Fonner Park.