Junior Jamey Price has success as jockey

RELEASED: March 19, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—Located only a 45-minutes drive from Lexington, the horse capital of the world, Centre College is no stranger to equestrians of all types. Jamey Price '10, a history major from Charlotte, N.C., became an amateur jockey only fours years ago. Since then, he's ridden in 25 races on five different horses. Of those 25 races, he's won eight, for a staggeringly high win percentage of 32 percent. His most recent victory came with 10-year-old horse, Pleasant Pick, on March 8 in the "Starter Florida Bred Flat Race." It was a repeat victory for the two.

One year ago, Price won the same race with the same horse, earning a $10,000 purse. This year, he and his mount pulled into the lead and eventually crossed the finish line four lengths ahead of the number two horse.

"The horse was an absolute joy to ride, and it was probably the most rewarding and enjoyable race I've ridden out of my 25 lifetime starts," Price says.

But the day's excitement was far from over for Price, who ran into an old acquaintance in the winner's circle.

"While at the Starter Florida Bred Flat Race last year, I met Rondé Barber, #20 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and five-time Pro Bowl Player for the NFC," says Price. "We had a long chat before my race that basically boiled down to him wanting to ride in a horse race which I jokingly promised I'd work on.

"After I won, he was one of the first people in line to come congratulate me on the victory. It was pretty cool, but I didn't think it would be repeated in my lifetime."

But when Price won the same race this year, he was greeted first by Mr. Barber, who served as the trophy presenter.

"When I jumped off the horse, Rondé Barber came over to me, punched me in the shoulder, gave me this huge bear hug and said, 'I thought you promised me a race ride!' We both had a good laugh at that.

"He's truly an incredibly humble and easygoing guy," Price says of Barber. "He was legitimately excited and proud of what I had done those past two years. It made the win that much more special to me, and it's something I'll never forget."

Price currently has ambitions to become a professional photographer, but in the meantime enjoys the access Centre provides to his other passion, horses.

"Centre is in a wonderful location if you are interested in equestrian sports. Lexington is not too far for those looking to be an exercise rider or jockey and there are a number of barns at which you could take lessons at in the immediate area. Centre really is smack in the middle of horse country."

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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