FREEHOLD,
NJ -- January 31, 2014 – The Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association and
the horsemen who compete at Freehold Raceway gathered in the winner’s circle on
Friday, January 31, 2014 to salute outrider Beth Cumberland.
After
the fourth race on the card, Cumberland was presented with a plaque which read:
“Thank you for your exemplary horsemanship on January 10, 2014.” Joining
her for the presentation were SBOANJ Executive Administrator Leo McNamara and
nearly two dozen trainers and drivers.
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Freehold
horsemen along with SBOANJ Executive Administrator Leo McNamara and Horsemen’s
Rep Linda Goss join in the presentation of a plaque to salute outrider Beth
Cumberland and her horse, Jazz, in the Freehold winner’s circle on January 31,
2014. Photo by Helene Gregory for World Wide Racing Photo
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Cumberland
has been the outrider at Freehold Raceway since 1999. A former jockey,
she also serves as an exercise rider for the stable of thoroughbred trainer
Alan Goldberg, based in Colts Neck, NJ.
On
a daily basis, Cumberland leads post parades and assists drivers with their
horses who might not want to go to the gate or turn properly. But every
once in a while she and her horse, Jazz, are put to the test by a miscue on the
track, as was the case of the multi-horse accident on January 10.
“Beth
is someone who does her job so well that she often doesn’t get acknowledged for
the role she plays in the safety of our horsemen,” said SBOANJ President Tom
Luchento. “We thought we’d take this opportunity to honor her for both
her day-to-day work ethic and her extraordinary job of rounding up loose horses
after the accident earlier this month.”
Freehold
Raceway will also honor Cumberland for her 15 years of service at the
Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey’s awards banquet on
February 9, 2014 at the Holiday Inn in East Windsor, NJ.
“Having an outrider
of Beth’s caliber out on the track is extremely comforting to me as both the
director of racing and a harness racing fan,” Karen Fagliarone said. “We
are extremely lucky and grateful to have her here at Freehold. She is
without a doubt one of the best in the business.”
Cumberland, 46, is
from Manchester, NJ and is the mother of 28-year-old Shawna Nicole. She
started galloping horses in 1988, rode her first race at the Meadowland in 1989
and picked up her first victory as a jockey in 1990 at Garden State Park.
Her career stats include 78 wins, 88 seconds and 109 thirds from 997 starts for
earnings of $523,664.
Riding spills, broken
bones and concussions took their toll, and she decided to hang up her tack,
working at various track jobs, including ponying horses and filling in as
outrider at Philadelphia Park [now Parx]. In 1999, she was asked to work
the summer meet as the outrider at Freehold and never left.
While she is still
exercising thoroughbreds for Alan Goldberg in the spring, summer and fall, she
has filled in the gap in her schedule the last two winters, jogging and
training trotters and pacers for Steve Smith and Karen Garland.
Cumberland’s mount,
Jazz, is a striking chestnut thoroughbred with white stockings and blaze, who
retired as a racehorse when he was four after some success on the turf.
“I thought he was a
show horse prospect,” explained Cumberland. “But then I realized he was
great at outriding and maybe a bit too hot for showing. He’s very agile
and can reach full speed in three or four steps.”
-Submitted by Carol Hodes
for the SBOANJ
