16-year-old jockey wins on first mount at Santa Anita

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Call it beginner’s luck or maybe the start of something special, but 16-year-old apprentice jockey Tyler Kaplan, a native of Norco, won on the first mount of his career Thursday at Santa Anita, guiding the 5-year-old mare Soldier Betty to a half-length victory in the fifth race.

‘When we hit the wire, it was amazing,’ Kaplan said. ‘I couldn’t believe it.’

Kaplan graduated from high school at 14 after taking online classes. He attended a jockey school in Tehachapi and is an intern at Chris McCarron‘s North American Riding Academy in Lexington, Ky.

-- Eric Sondheimer