JOCKEYS, HOLY ANGELS CAGERS TO MEET FEB. 25,
DELAHOUSSAYE, GOMEZ, PINCAY TO SIGN AUTOGRAPHS
ARCADIA, Calif. (Feb. 5, 2010)—The 43rd annual Holy Angels-Santa Anita Jockeys
Charity Basketball Game will take place Thursday, Feb. 25, 7:15 p.m., at La
Salle High School in Pasadena. Proceeds will benefit the Holy Angels athletic
department and legendary Hall of Fame jockeys Eddie Delahoussaye and Laffit
Pincay will be on hand along with four-time national money-won champion Garrett
Gomez to sign autographs, beginning at 6:15 p.m.
Delahoussaye, Gomez and Pincay will also serve as honorary co-captains. Top
rider David Flores, who has anchored the jockey attack for more than 15 years,
will once again serve as game captain.
“We’ve got a great bunch of guys and we have a lot of fun with this game every
year,” said Flores. “There are a lot of great people at Holy Angels and they’ve
meant a lot to us here at Santa Anita over the years. This game helps raise
money for their sports programs and we have a lot fun with it.
“The last couple of years, they’ve had some pretty big players, but we’re fit
and we’ll give ‘em a good game. My kids like to come and they have a blast every
year. It should be great.”
As he has for the past 10 years, HRTV anchor/analyst Kurt Hoover will coach the
jockeys. “I really think we had more fun last year than ever before,” said
Hoover. “David (Flores) does such a great job in getting the jocks to come out
and play and most importantly, to stay loose and have fun with it. I’ll tell you
one thing—that gym at LaSalle gets jam-packed and it’s LOUD in there.
“The whole night has a great feel to it and one of the best things is watching
how the little kids react to the game. They love it. Paul Atkinson usually has
his two little girls there and they treat this like an NBA title game.”
Along with Flores and Atkinson, Rafael Bejarano, Joel Rosario, Mike Smith, Joe
Talamo, Martin Garcia, Brice Blanc, Alonso Quinonez, Felipe Valdez, Mike Baze,
Tyler Baze, Omar Berrio and others are expected to participate.
In addition to having fun, Hoover is optimistic about the jockeys’ prospects
this year. “It’s my understanding that a couple of their tallest kids graduated
last year, so hopefully, we won’t have too many trees to contend with. We’ll
rely on our quickness and physical condition and I think we’ll be very
competitive,” he said.
LaSalle High School is located at the southwest corner of Michillinda Ave. and
Sierra Madre Blvd. in Pasadena, approximately four miles from Santa Anita.
Admission is $5.