HIALEAH, FL—JANUARY 1, 2012—Veteran jockey Bill Ives, always a popular rider at every track he rode, went out a winner at Hialeah Park Sunday in the final ride of his career. Ives piloted Wild N Wicked Jd, a four-year-old Jackie Kirby trainee, to his fifth consecutive win in the featured $20,000-added Beautiful Prairie Stakes at 220 yards.

The stakes win was the icing on the cake of a big final weekend for Ives. In all, he won five races over the course of the three-day racing week at this iconic South Florida track.

Ives, who had been contemplating his retirement, let many of the local horsemen know during the last week of 2011 that he was going to hang up his tack after New Year’s Day.

Ives, who will turn 51 in a little over a month, first rode in pari-mutuel races in 1980. He competed for 11 years before taking a long 17 year break from competitive race riding. During that time, Ives competed in rodeos and showed horses. He resumed his riding career in 2008 and has ridden at many of the major Quarter Horse tracks in America since then, including Hialeah Park, Prairie Meadows, Remington Park, Will Rogers Downs, and Boise.

Ives mentioned Chi Ter (2011 Hialeah Invitational winner), Stone E Motion (a multiple stakes winner at 870 yards), Eyeowa Cyclone (a winner of five straight races at Remington Park in 2011), and Wild N Wicked Jd (five straight wins, from claiming to stakes ranks) as four of his favorite horses.

He shared the 2010 Prairie Meadows riding title with Stormy Smith after riding 28 winners. In the just completed 2011 season, Ives won or placed in 201 of 572 starts, winning six stakes and seven stakes placing with $1,150,569 in earnings. Since 2008, the Omak, Washington native posted a 234-195-283 record in 2022 starts.

Ives plans to return to his home state of Washington where he plans to spend more time with his family and get involved in the fishing, shrimping, and crabbing business.

From Claim to Fame, Ives Rides Wild N Wicked Jd to First Stakes Win

Ives booted Wild N Wicked Jd to his first stakes victory and third straight win in the $20,000 Beautiful Prairie Stakes on Sunday afternoon at Hialeah Park. Owned by Mary Passmore and trained by Jack Kirby, the just turned four-year-old completed the 250 yards in a quick :13.106 seconds to record a 102 speed index.

The Terribly Wicked gelding overtook Kathryns Cartel in the final jump to win by a head. Tre Boss finished a half-length off the leaders in third.

Wild N Wicked Jd started his winning spree at Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma on November 11th when he took a $15,000 Claiming event by three-quarters. Ridden by his regular rider Ives, the gelding ran a 101 speed index and won another claiming race at Hialeah Park on November 6th.

The $13,500 winner's purse he collected today moved his earnings level to $37,207 with a 4-1-4 record in 13 outs. J.B. Misner bred Wild N Wicked Jd in Missouri from the Pure D Dash mare Casha D Dash.

Karthryns Cartel, a 5-year-old Corona Cartel filly out of My Lady Amber, by First Down Dash, races for Jovetta Meredith and Wade Helton. Also trained by Kirby the Marcus Smith bred mare was ridden by Francisco Ramirez, Jr. She earned $4,500 for the effort.

Racing for Jose Ivanez, Tre Boss earned $2,250 for third. The Tres Seis gelding out of Bosanova Baby, by Corona Cartel, is trained by Jesus Gonzalez, Jr and ridden by Shanley Jackson.

Completing the field were Jacis Flashy Girl, Oklahoma Bandido, Marys Corazon, Go Mary Be Famous, Sheza Titleist, Jessgonnafly and Bachendorf.

The total mutuel handle for the ninth day of the 2011-2012 Quarter Horse season was $172,364 with the on-track crowd estimated at 3,000.

Live racing resumes at Hialeah Park on Friday January 6. The facility now operates on a five-days-a-week schedule, with live racing Friday through Sunday and simulcast wagering on all the top tracks in America available Wednesday and Thursday. Additionally, with Gulfstream Park scheduled to run Monday January 2, Hialeah Park has added that day to its simulcast offerings.