Ex-jock stands by her ‘comeback’ horse
Six years after a middle-aged jockey came out of retirement to pilot a luckless racehorse on a comeback career that seemed impossible— naysayers claimed neither horse nor rider had it in them anymore— Jackie Acksel and the statuesque Thoroughbred Smalltownman still light up the racetrack. The pair, who won $200,000 together before the horse was claimed away, have been inseparable since Acksel tracked down and claimed him back in September of 2013. “Smalltown just really touched my heart, and is now part of my family,” says Acksel, who works as a race trainer in New Jersey and Florida. And wherever […]
