 Welcome back to the Sports Mac zone today we continue to look at the Jamaica Thorbitt Horsemen's Foundation fundraising series of events from the 1st to the 5th of February. This initiative is supporting the needs of horsemen and backstretch workers at K-Manus Spartan. On Thursday we heard from the event special guest speaker, the jockey, Sean Bridgmahan. Today we welcome in studio three former champion jockeys who both decorated racing careers. George Hossang, Emilia Rodriguez and Charlie Hossein. Gentlemen, welcome to the Sports Mac zone. Great to have you all here. George was a champion jockey from in the 70s, Rodriguez a champion jockey from in the 80s. You had a couple of titles in the 70s, but you were a champion jockey as recent as 2001. It was 2005. 2005? Yeah, I think so, yeah. Oh, okay. But spanning out. It was 98. Yes. And then I know it was a little pure after that. I don't think it was closest to one. Yeah, we spoke to Sean Bridgmahan yesterday. Of course, Sean didn't ride in Jamaica. He migrated at the age of 13 and started his riding career overseas. Correct. But we spoke about the need to help some of the less fortunate people in the business. Charlie, you are the one that is still stationed here in Jamaica. So you're seeing firsthand the struggles of some of these riders. I go to the track every Thursday morning and sometimes on a race day. And I see a lot of old people in the business, grooms and so on, who remember putting Emilia up on a horse. And of course, both Emilia and George had Fitz Crawford as their apprentice masters. How difficult is it for you, Charlie, to see people struggling at the racetrack? Because these are passionate people. Racing is their life. Yes. Is their life. And they are struggling many of them. Yes, you're perfectly right. I've seen them in the Jockeys categories, in the grooms. And they're working many, many years and they don't have anything to fall back on due to probably not proper saving or education or to do other things while they're at the track. Yes. That is the key. In Jamaica, you have to have a supplement income. I think that's where we fall back in teaching and giving these people knowledge that you have to have a backup plan. Yeah. You know? I know that you had been based in Florida for some time as well, Charlie, in the 1980s, but George made his name as a champion rider at Woodbine twice. Twice. Emilia had spent a lot of time riding in the USA as well. George and Emilia, let me start with George. Is it the same globally? Is it the same in the USA where people on the back stretch and grooms and so on are really struggling and need help? No, not really. They have a social program that at the age of 65, a person who works for at least 10 years, they can get coverage, full coverage of health insurance. That is the law in the United States and a pension, social security pension, a check every month. And a lot of people who live on the low budget lifestyle, they can manage. And that is what, as Charlie was saying, we lack here. When these grooms, they get the voyage in their 80s. There are grooms there in their 80s. I know. They don't have that to fall back on and they can't afford their medication. And that's one of the reasons why we are here for the Horsemen Benevolent Foundation, for the needed horsemen, and the horses that are abandoned, the retired resources that are abandoned. Every owner can afford to take care of their horses, or their retired horses, or get them into the police force. Yes, after care program. After care program. So some of them, they really fall by the wayside. We seem them abused and abandoned on the roadside sometimes. That's where we are coming in now. Starving in a pin. I'm trying to see if we can save this program and do something towards the grooms, the old grooms, and even some of the trainers too. Unfortunately, the trainers, they spend their career, their old life, in the horse racing, looking after the horses. And unfortunately, they don't come out on top. It's not everybody going to come out on top of the game, like us. But if we can do something for them, then I know they will appreciate whatever gesture we are trying to do. The organizers have told me that ticket sales have been going reasonably well for Monday's fundraising dinner, and I think over 150 tickets have already been sold for the fundraising dinner on Monday night. And it's $15,000 Jamaican dollars. And for horse racing men with IDs, I think $10,000. And I believe that you gentlemen being a part of this program, Bridge Mahon riding at K-Mata Spark on Saturday for the first time, I'm sure you guys will be at racing as well on Saturday, it will trigger a lot more interest in Monday's fundraiser. And a lot of people know probably embracing the need to try to help some of the struggling people at K-Mata Spark, Emilio. Yes, we are trying to do a lot of media coverage and to see if we can involve other people, see what we are trying to do, and come out and try to help us. Support. That's our main objective. Just what I said to George, when he first brought the idea to me, I said, George, I'm in Winston, and we also have Winston. Between the four of us, we are well-known in the industry because of our dedication and years of riding, of paying attention to the horses. We can open some doors. I called George because I heard of it. I called George before. I said, George, what is this all about? We keep in touch with each other all through the years. I called George and asked him, what is this all about? George, sit down and explain to me and tell me what it is. I said, put me on board. George said, George, I'm going to call the racing commission and say if we can get the racing commission involved as well. So I did call the racing commission, Mr. Metcalf, Mr. Clovis Metcalf. He pointed me to Dr. Ramdan. That's the commission. From the Chileans? Yes, from the Soviet Ramla. So we are trying to get everybody involved in what we are doing. It's not like I'm walking around the back door of business. We are putting everything up front and make everybody know what we are doing. Actually we had a meeting this morning with the racing commission and it was very fruitful. I can't have you three here without getting our viewers to understand a little about what you are doing at the moment. So we have already established the fundraiser on Monday and we hope it goes well and makes a lot of money. George and Emile, let me start with you two who are based overseas. How have you been enjoying retirement? You both had decorated riding careers and you are not in racing anymore as far as I know. How are things with life? After retirement, I have three grandchildren that I have hands on helping my daughter with. They are like eight months, two years and seven years and they are more than a handful. My little siesta that I used to take, that's not done anymore. The little ones are on top of me and you know, I love them so much that when they are misbehaving I spoil them anyway. Grandparents are known to do that. The more I spoil them the more headache they give me. That's my life right now. For our viewers, George was the forerunner for the Woodbine success that Caribbean riders are having at the moment. After George was championed twice at Woodbine in Canada, we saw Emile Ramsamy come up in the 1990s from TNT, a championed jockey there as well. And then Patrick Husbands from Barbados, eight jockeys titles at Woodbine as well. So this man, George Osang was... And Janet Jones as well. And you have a story about Janet Jones because you were based at Woodbine some years ago on the Queen's Plate with not Bourbon. You strategized his race tactics, didn't you? Yes, I did. Talk to us about it. Janet Jones was a fine rider. He got heavy and left the saddle, but... Yeah, Janet Jones came to me because we were living in one apartment building. And Janet Jones came to me and asked me, Bimbo, bring this race from and tell me how to ride this horse here. So I took the race from him and I read it and I said, General, it's one horse you have to beat. It's a three-year-old called Ginger Brew that is a Stranocos horse training by... I don't remember the trainer name. But I said, this is the only horse. Don't think about no other horse. This horse can lead, but don't lead with this horse. Sit about fourth, fifth, and save your horse until you come in this, leaving the two and a half and you slingshot this horse here. Give him two, three-legged, change the whip and wait until Ginger Brew comes because she's coming. Yeah. And he rode the horse exactly what I told him. Yeah. And he won. By a shorter... George wants to say something. I'm just saying he instructed that rider like he already seen the replay. Well, I actually spoke to Janet Jones after he won that race. And he was the one that told me that you had given him tactics as to how to ride the horse. No, Charlie, you rode the 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spender Buck as a two-year-old. 1984 Kentucky Derby winner. Yeah, Spender Buck, 1984. Yeah, okay. And you rode that horse as a two-year-old. Talk to us about your career in Florida because you had a lot of successes that came out of spark, but you had some good times in Florida as well, didn't you? Yes, yes. I was always in the top 10, you know? And my biggest success was Spender Buck. Obviously, he went on to win the Kentucky Derby. Yeah. But I started... I broke his maiden. I was partnering with him from... He came to the track as a two-year-old because the train at the time, the time government, he didn't know anything about training. This is the first horse I was riding for his friend, Eddie Pleaser, Sr. And Eddie came to me and said, hey, Charlie, help up my Pazano. He don't know nothing. Yeah. It's the first horse. I said, don't worry, I'll take care. Yeah. And as the story went, the first race we ran, he won. And then he ran one another race at Colorado and the trainer, because he didn't have the experience, he put him in a steak race after he broke his maiden and he came up against a champion, a two-year-old at a time named Smile, which had already won a couple steak races, like three steak races, which way out of this league, you know? Ran second, trainer decided, whoa, we're going to go to Ohio in 100,000, 130,000 Ohio's Cradle States. Yes. Way out of this league again. That is where we realized this is a big horse. He won that race by 18 lengths. Wow. On the beat. And I told the trainer and the owner, this is a Kentucky derby horse. This horse, first time around two turns, never even worked six for one. Yeah. And ran like that. Yeah. I said this is a champion horse. George, when we had the triple champions function some years ago, honoring you and Emilio and Winston, Sandy Hawley, the most celebrated jockey in the history of Canadian racing, spoke glowingly about you and suggested that of all the riders that he faced in his entire career, this George Hossang was the most problematic. Yes. We did some battles back there at Woodbine. And, you know, I won, as I can remember, the ones that we did wind up battling down the street, I won more times than he did. He did. Yes. I got his attention there. But he had the home ground on me. Yes, I know. Yeah. When I went to Woodbine the first year, they used to have entries and every horse that is entered says no boy riding the horse. No boy meaning no rider. And then Sandy Hawley and his agent would sit and get the race form and pick the best rides. And then everybody else... Strangler for the race. So he was like, you know, he owned the back straight. So the fact that you could become champion jockey at Woodbine within two or three years of arriving there was a tremendous story. Jordan Assange, you will always be celebrated as a tremendous riding talent out of the Caribbean. Charlie Hossier and Emilia Rodriguez, great to have you on as well. All iconic jockeys coming out of Jamaica. We thank you for your careers because I can tell you, as a youngster growing up, all three of you were riders that impressed me and made me fall in love with horse racing, especially that one there. Emilia Rodriguez. Do you know that, Bimbo? I know that. Okay, gentlemen, thank you very much. And I'll see you on Monday night because we expect that this will be a fundraiser that will gather a lot of funds and money to help some of the needed people involved in horse racing at K-Manus Park in Jamaica. Back with more on the Sports Back Zone after this.