Jockey Profile	Rafael Bejarano
Rafael Bejarano was born in Arequipa, Peru on 23 June 1982. Bejarano attended the races as a youth, and developed an intense passion for the sport. He enrolled in the Peruvian national riding school, and in order to finance his tuition, he groomed the horses. In 1999 after training for 1 and a half years, he began his professional career in horse racing, receiving the apprentice title at Hippodromo de Monterrico in Lima that same year. With the assistance of trainer Dante Zanelli Sr., Bejarano immigrated to Louisville, Kentucky, USA in May 2002, synching his first win in the United States aboard John Bobby at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2004 was a bumper year for him, winning the United States Champion Jockey, and seven races on a single race card at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, and led North American jockeys with 455 wins. 2005 was to be a racing milestone year for him, winning the 1000th race of his career at Keeneland, placing him fourth by earnings in North America. He also received titles in Churchill, Turfway Park and Ellis Park that year, and obtained his first Breeders' Cup win in the 2005 Filly & Mare Turf aboard Intercontinental. 2005 also saw him sustain injuries in a freak starting gate accident at Saratoga, which left him with a hairline fracture and ligament damage to his right ankle, eliminating him from the races for nearly a month. His injuries weren't going to keep him down for long, and in 2006, on his second visit to Santa Anita, he was victorious with six races on the card and five races at Churchill Downs. In maintaining his eventful predecessor years, in 2007 at the Blue Grass Stakes aboard Dominican, Bejarano took the win from underneath the 2006 U.S. Champion hooves, Street Sense. He also claimed the victory at his second Breeders' Cup win aboard Ginger Punch at Distaff.

Rafael Bejarano - Notable Wins

2002 - River Downs - John Bobby

2004 - Churchill - Colonial Colony

2005 - Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf - Intercontinental

2005 - Keeneland - Northern Vacation

2007 - Blue Grass Stakes - Dominican

2007 - Breeders' Cup Distaff - Ginger Punch

Rafael Bejarano - Betting

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