Sports
Horse Racing Hero Returns to Pleasanton
Preakness-winning jockey and former Pleasanton deli cook, Martin Garcia, met with fans at Alameda County Fair on Wednesday
They say you can never go home again.
Someone forgot to tell Martin Garcia.
"In Pleasanton, I feel like I'm at home."
Fans of all ages lined up on Wednesday at the Alameda County Fair horse racing grandstand to snag an autograph from the Preakness Stakes-winning jockey
"He is an incredible story," said Mike McGrath of San Ramon. "I watched the Preakness at Casa Orozco in Dublin, where some of Martin's former roommates work. They were going crazy when they saw him take the lead. He's a local celebrity now."
"People from Pleasanton show me so much and they are so proud of me," Garcia said. "It means a lot."
The 5-foot-1-inch, 106-pound rider sprinted to national stardom in May after piloting Lookin At Lucky to victory in the second jewel of horse racing's prestigious Triple Crown series.
For more than two hours on Wednesday, Garcia posed for pictures, chatted with local supporters in English and Spanish and praised Pleasanton's one-mile oval, where he learned to race horses just five years ago.
"This is, as I always say, a place where I would be happy to spend the rest of my life," he said
Today, Garcia lives and races full-time in Los Angeles, where he is widely considered one of the best young jockeys in the country.
But back in 2005, Garcia was working as a cook at Chicago's Metropolitan Deli in Pleasanton.
"I could not be more proud to be here sitting right next to him," said deli owner Terri Terry, as she proudly sat beside her former employee on Wednesday. "Everyone welcoming him here today is not because of the Preakness, but because they knew him when he started and they are just so happy for him."
Garcia immigrated to Pleasanton from his native Mexico in 2003 and took a job working in the kitchen at Terry's deli.
Terry, a horse owner, was surprised to learn Garcia grew up riding horses in Mexico. For months, Garcia pleaded for a chance to see Terry's horse until finally, she invited the young cook to meet her mare.
"He told me he didn't need the saddle, and before I even took the saddle off, he was on top of her, and she didn't care," Terry described. "Very few people have that talent, so I said, 'You need to work with horses.'"
The rest is history.
Terry introduced Garcia to Pleasanton horse trainer Mark Hannah, who helped kick start the young rider's professional career in the saddle.
This May, Garcia accepted a last-minute invite to ride Conveyance in his first Kentucky Derby. Then, two weeks later, he switched horses and sprinted to his life-changing win in the Preakness.
And although Terry pushed one of her top chefs out of the deli and into the world of thoroughbred racing, she jokes that her good deed is being rewarded.
"The restaurant has increased it's sales because of Martin, so I guess everything good does go around."
