By Shawn Drupp
Tyler Conner was one of the first Jockeys I talked with online when I started doing the weekly Horse Racing Radar podcast in 2020. Tyler has always been someone I could go to if I ever had a question or needed help and he would help the best way he could.
I finally got to meet Tyler on Preakness day when I attended Penn National. This year, Penn National added day races at 2 pm eastern for all the Triple Crown events. We finally nailed down a date so that my family and I could go over to Tyler’s farm and hang out before following him over to the races that night. That day was Friday, June 3rd, Penn Mile day, little did we know what a great day and night it would be.
I arrived at Tyler’s farm around 1:00 PM on Saturday with my girlfriend Hillary and my son Blake. Of course, since Blake is a typical four-year-old, he was very shy and didn’t want to get out of the car. Once we finally did, we headed to where the animals were.
Hockey Puck Horse
We were greeted by a goat named June and a mini horse named Buster. On the other side, we went to see a former racehorse HOCKEY PUCK. He had a personality but was very friendly. Getting up close and personal with horses is not something I’ve gotten to do very much. HOCKEY PUCK liked to lick but also seemed like he wanted to nibble. Every time he moved his head quickly, I would jump. Hillary, of course, found this funny since I always tell her I’m an animal person and I’m not afraid of them.
Next, we met former racehorse DANCING SPARKS. This mare is friendly but also protective of her four-month-old foal. Anytime HOCKEY PUCK put his head out, DANCING SPARKS wasn’t having any of it and snapped, letting him know to get away. Finally, we went over to former racehorse V W TURBO which Tyler says was ironically named because this horse had no turbo or speed when racing.
V W TURBO had five career starts with only a third to show for it. I bonded with this horse the best. She might not have been a good racehorse, but she is definitely a lover. She got you to pet her right where she wanted and was content. If I had room for a horse, we would have brought her home.
While we were visiting the horses and the goat, we talked to Tyler mostly about horse racing. Hillary really got to ask some questions that sometimes I didn’t have the answers to. It was a fun time and before you know it, time was flying, and Tyler soon had to head to the track to cut some weight. Before we got in the car and went to visit Tyler’s other passion: his dirt bikes. Blake is really into motorcycles, so he was glad to go as well.
At that point, Tyler had to get to the track since for a news interview at 4:30. We left and visited a park to let Blake run some of his energy off. After about an hour of that, we headed to the track. At the track, as Tyler was finishing up his interview, Blake was pointing at him excitedly, saying, “That’s the Jockey whose house we were at!” Tyler stopped over to say hi again and headed to the Jocks room, ready for the nights action.
I headed in to get a book when I ran into Jockey agent and former guest of the show, Marcus Judy. I got to talk to him a little bit and found out Trainer Anthony Farrior, who was on our show, would be there later. I got to meet and say hi to Anthony later in the night.
Blake and I stood at the Paddock where the horses and Jockeys were getting ready, where I got to say hi to another one of our former guests, Jockey Courtney Gilardo. He was riding in the first race and ended up finishing third. Jockey Manuel Aguilar won the first race on the favorite BIGMANCAN.
The second race, Tyler was on the favorite and finished second behind ECLIPTICALS ELLIOT, who again was ridden by Manuel Aguilar. Now we headed into the Stakes and the turf action. The turf course was listed as soft thanks to heavy overnight rain.
Maldives Model and Tyler Conner in the winners’ circle
Race three was the Lyphard Stakes. Tyler was on MALDIVES MODEL, trained by his stepmom Erin McClellan and his Dad John Conner. The gates opened and Tyler got MALDIVES MODEL out to the lead, completely different than what it looked like on paper. He took her all the way around and wired the field. MALDIVES MODEL ended up being an overlay of 10-1 from a ML of 5-1.
We ran over to the winner’s circle to get some pictures and talk to Tyler. While doing that, we passed Erin and John, so I said hi to them and congratulated them on their big win. I talked to Tyler after the race and asked him about getting the early lead and he told me that no one wanted the lead, so he figured he would go and steal it, which is exactly what he did.
In race four, Tyler was able to pick up a mount on a rider change. He brought home LACCO AMENO, a 70-1, to a second-place finish behind the huge favorite BUY LAND AND SEA. Flavien Prat was aboard, and he went on to win the next race as well with another heavy favorite HAUGHTY. Flavien was a fan favorite and a busy guy as people tried to get his autograph and picture.
We headed into the big race of the night, the $400,000 Penn Mile G II. Tyler was aboard WOW WHATA SUMMER who, like the other six horses, would have to figure out a way to beat ANNAPOLIS, who was undefeated and had Irad Ortiz Jr. The gates opened and shortly after, Tyler snuck up the rail with WOW WHATA SUMMER and took over the lead.
He had the lead coming to the stretch and the big favorite ANNAPOLIS is closing in. The crowd was going nuts as the big favorite coming against an 83-1 longshot trying to hold on. As soon as we thought the favorite was going to get there, WOW WHATA SUMMER found something in the tank and crossed the wire first. Tyler gave a fist bump crossing the wire as it was his biggest win to date. It was certainly “wow” as he paid 168.60 to win.
Off to race seven and back onto the dirt track. The Danzig Stakes was a full field of ten runners. Tyler was on the six horse NIMITZ CLASS. As they came down the stretch, horses were coming from everywhere and here came Tyler with NIMITZ CLASS to the wire first. Blake and I ran over to the winner’s circle again and after Tyler took his pictures, we congratulated him. I said to him, “C’mon, Tyler, if I’m ever going to get a picture of you smiling, it’s now.” It worked, and I got at least a half a smile.
Blake gets his Goggles
Tyler had two more races and went on to finish third and fourth. His night was done, and it was a good one. Tyler had seven mounts total: three wins, two seconds, a third, and a fourth. After one of those races, we asked Tyler for one of his goggles as I promised Blake we could get a pair. Of course, Tyler dropped what he was carrying with no hesitation, unwrapped one of his goggles, and handed them to me to give to Blake. Blake was a happy camper!
We watched the last couple races even though it was a long night. Hillary and Blake were ready to go, but we made sure we closed out the night. In the final race, the number one won, which always made Blake happy because he always roots for the one horse. It made me happy as well as I had twenty bucks on it to win. That also made Jockey Manuel Aguilar happy, as he also had a good night winning three races. He won the first two and the last one.
It was a fantastic day and night! We thank Tyler for taking the time for us and we congratulate him on his huge night. If somebody didn’t know the name Tyler Conner before Friday, they know now. I’m thankful for the opportunity we had to get to know Tyler over the past two years. He is the same guy on and off the track, somebody that is easy to root for. We always talk about young fans like Blake. He had a blast and will definitely be back thanks to Tyler.
