Racing Analyst Richard Migliore announces his departure from NYRA

by Pat McKenna

Retired champion jockey and current NYRA TV Racing Analyst Richard Migliore announced today that he is leaving his position at NYRA TV following the Stars and Stripes Racing Festival on July 8. Migliore has worked for NYRA since 2011, following a distinguished career as a jockey based mostly on the NYRA circuit.   

“I’d like to first thank NYRA for providing me with this wonderful opportunity after my riding days were over. I am so proud to have been a part of one of the best TV teams in horse racing, and I look forward to seeing NYRA TV’s continued success as a viewer,” Migliore said. “After spending so much of my life here at these racetracks, this is certainly a bittersweet moment and one that I have considered for quite some time. The best thing for me and my family right now is to strike a better balance between spending time on the farm in Millbrook with my family and working in the industry I love.”

Migliore, a native of Brooklyn, has been a NYRA mainstay for almost four decades, starting as an exercise rider and backstretch worker before transitioning to the NYRA jockey colony. He began riding on the NYRA circuit in 1980, and in 1981 won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top apprentice. Crowned as the leading rider in New York in 1981 and 1985, Migliore also won or tied as leading rider at 10 different NYRA meets, before his retirement in June of 2010. 

Since joining NYRA TV in 2011, Migliore has provided daily analysis during both the NYRA simulcast as well as the nationally televised “Saratoga Live” and “Belmont Live.” Migliore, who resides on a farm in Millbrook, N.Y., with his wife Carmela and four kids, was also head of the Apprentice Jockey program and hosted the popular New Owners' Luncheons during his time with NYRA.

“On behalf of the men and women of the New York Racing Association, I’d like to thank Richie for all his years of dedicated service to NYRA and horse racing,” said NYRA President and CEO Chris Kay. “In addition to his obvious talents on the racetrack and in front of the camera, Richie worked to introduce new owners to the game and educate apprentice jockeys to make them safer riders. He will always be a tremendous advocate for our game, and respected member of the NYRA family. We wish ‘The Mig’ the very best in his future endeavors.”

“Richie has been an instrumental part of making Saratoga Live and Belmont Live a success out of the gate,” said Tony Allevato, President of NYRA Bets and NYRA TV Executive Producer. “He brought experience, energy and respected insights to the broadcast. We will miss him.”

From 1980-2010, Migliore rode more than 4,000 winners with over 3,900 wins on the NYRA circuit. Nicknamed "The Mig" after the Russian fighter jets for his tireless riding style, Migliore was honored with the Mike Venezia Award in 2003 and the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 2008. He has ridden many great thoroughbreds, including Desert Code on which he won the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2008 along with Fourstardave, Artie Schiller, Hidden Lake, Kip Deville, Friends Lake and many more.