All of these other countries have schools. You look at the riders from Panama , and Peru , and Ireland , and these guys are starting at an advantage. We're the country with the best racing, but we don't have a school for jockeys. Riders here have to learn from their competition.

The irony of the situation is that we have the best racing in the world and jockeys come here from all over the world and try to emulate and mimic the style of American riders,

It was a fascinating trip, ... I learned a lot that will be beneficial to our students. Practically every country involved in horse racing requires some licensing. We have the best racing, the best horses, and the best farms, yet we have no school.

It's unfair to the trainers to have a smaller pool of truly skilled and talented riders at their disposal.

It's going to be a full-blown community or technical college course.

It's a perfect fit, ... We need a lot of horses, and this will be a big feather in our cap.

This is truly a historic opportunity for all facets of the horse-racing industry. Never before has there been a program of this kind in the United States. This academy will allow jockeys -- and eventually all those interested in the horse-racing industry -- to develop career pathways that will allow them to reach training and educational goals they never knew were possible.

You cannot name another professional sport in which the athletes have not had coaches teaching them for much of their life,

There are a number of riders in the jocks' room here who have what it takes to be leaders, except that they're maybe a little too quiet,

This will eventually be a like lot some of the jockey schools in other countries around the world,