Train jockey Vince “Jimbo” Bracciale passes
Frank Vesp- December 18, 2025
Vincent “Jimbo” Bracciale, Jr., a Maryland jockey who racked up more than 3,500 victories, including two aboard the all-time great Ruffian and dozens more in company, died on December 15. He was 72.
In July 1974, with regular rider Jacinto Vasquez suspended, trainer Frank Whiteley, Jr. turned to Bracciale to pilot Ruffian in the Grade 3 Astoria at Aqueduct. The two-year-old Reviewer filly won by nine lengths in record time.
This article contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Vasquez returned to the irons for an easy victory in the Grade 1 Sorority at Monmouth Park, but was suspended again in late August when she rode in the Spinaway at Saratoga. Whiteley turned to Bracciale again and the duo won effortlessly by almost 13 lengths.
“I had nothing to do for it [Whiteley] mostly, but every now and then he had something for me,’ Told bracelet This is horse racing in 2024 of the trainer’s decision to use him on Ruffian. “He knew my dad, who used to ride, and I had ridden a few for him in Maryland, so he knew me, and I think he thought I did a good job.”
In his career, Bracciale won 3,545 races against 20,291 starters, earning nearly $38 million. According to Equibase, whose detailed statistics begin in 1976, Bracciale won more than 39 different bets.
He achieved four Grade 1 victories from 1976 through 1989, when his career effectively ended (he achieved seven mounts in 1990 and another in 1995). His Grade 1 victories included Hatchet Man in the 1976 Haskell Handicap, Majesty’s Prince in the 1984 Man O’ War, I’m Splendid in the 1985 Selima and Broad Brush in the 1986 Wood Memorial.
After their victory in the Wood Memorial, Bracciale and Broad Brush finished third in that year’s Kentucky Derby.
Bracciale grew up in a racetrack family in Charles Town, WV. His father, Vincent Sr., started his career as a jockey and later trained there. Nearby neighbors included the Servis family, father Joe, once a jockey turned steward, while sons John and Jason became trainers.
Bracciale continued to have a presence on the back side of Laurel Park after he retired from riding. From 1992 he trained 31 winners from 318 starters. His eventual winner came in February 2024, when he dispatched the Blofeld colt Square Slice to win a maiden claimer.
Tributes to Bracciale on social media were plentiful.
“Great man and friend,” wrote practice rider and former jockey Emily Fewster, adding, “Inspirational as a rider and person. You will be missed.”
“He was loved and will be missed by many,” former Maryland coach Robin Graham said.
“One of the greatest riders of all time, but an even greater man,” added son-in-law Rick Trott, whose wife Natalie is one of five daughters (Lori, Stephanie, Niki and Amy the others) of Bracciale and his wife Terri. “He would tell you he won the biggest race of his life with his beautiful, loving wife and five daughters.”
LATEST NEWS
#Train #jockey #Vince #Jimbo #Bracciale #passes #Racing #Biz