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Brian Long Memorial

There was a special memorial service to remember the late jockey Brian Long who passed away on January 12, 2008.  The memorial was at Bay Meadows on Saturday, August 16th.  Race 8 on that day was named in honor of Brian.  We have the audio portion of the memorial service.  The service was conducted by then Chaplain David Corrales of The Northern California Racetracks and Richard Mena of Race Track Bible Study.  Click on the arrow button below to listen.
 
Brian C. Long
 
To view a tribute to Brian from a dear friend click on the You Tube Link below:
 
 
~ Written by Tawnja Ellison for the Idaho Statesman

Brian was born to Kay and Dale Long on October 5, 1962. He was destined to be a great rider

since he had many outstanding role models in his life. His father was a jockey as well as his maternal

grandfather Ralph Banks, a jockey and trainer. His uncle, Darrell Banks, was a jockey before retiring

to be a trainer. One of Brian's favorite mentors was his uncle, Ronnie Banks. After retiring from riding,

Ronnie went on to be a Jockeys' Guild representative for many years. His Uncle Ronnie was known to

have said that Brian was the most talented rider he had ever seen; that it was a gift.

His mother married Morris Webb, who was very influential in Brian's life. Brian is survived by his

mother, Kay Webb, who is the Simulcast Director for Bay Meadows, Hollywood Park, and the Northern

California Racing Fairs, his sister Daron Long, who is a successful race rider, and his three children,

aunts, uncles and cousins.

Brian rode his first race at Golden Gate Fields in his home state of California. At 16 years of age,

he was the leading bug boy at Arlington Park while earning the title of leading rider at Balmoral at the

same time. He would ride at one track in the afternoon and the other in the evenings.

He found this success again in 2007 as he dominated the jockey rankings at Les Bois Park earning leading rider award for the season and

winning four Idaho Cup races in one day. He also won his 1000th race while riding this past summer and was

featured on the front page of The Racing Journal for this achievement. He traveled to Elko, Nevada and Burns,

Oregon and came home with the leading rider title at both of these meets. Most recently, he rode at Zia Park and

Sunland Park. Over the years, Brian rode at race tracks across the country and Canada.

Even when Brian was on top, he continually wanted to improve his riding and could be found reviewing

tapes of his races on a daily basis. All who knew Brian will miss this determined spirit and his commitment to

racing. He will also be remembered for his quick wit, his giving attitude, his eternal requests for new 'bits' to be

added to trainer's tack, his self-proclaimed ADD moments, and his gift of being one of the most talented riders

to hit the Idaho circuit.

Try the Seventh

Horse in the Seventh

Race

From A Newspaper Article

July 7, 2007 • Idaho Statesman

Brian Long will be the seventh jockey in the seventh race today

at Les Bois Park at Chinden Boulevard and North Glenwood Street.

Lucky?

"Bet on me, Period," said Long, 44, a third-generation jockey riding

since 1978.

But betting on his horse - Beaucardi - has less to do with the

number and the day and more about his philosophy as a jockey.

"I'm getting on the best horses. Some jockeys make some horses

run faster than others. Some other jockeys who don't ride as well

have a fast horse and win," he said. "The best jockey is the one who

stays out of the horse's way. You don't break their momentum."

Long used to be superstitious before every race.

"Left boot first instead of right. I had to put my left boot on first," he said.

How did he go from superstitious to practical?

"I got sober," he said. "I pray. God. You know, he's what it's all about."

Remembering Brian....

"Brian was a very talented rider who I've known for 25 years. He was the

kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. We were good friends.

He was a wonderful man. I'd known him since 1985 when I was riding. If he

had $3 and you needed $3, I swear he'd give it to you. He was a very caring,

giving person."

Mike James, Agent

"He was such a talented fellow. He was very supportive of our racing

program. He was a leader among the jockeys who was always there. He

knew how important it was to be an active member. And he was a terror on

the track.

He established himself as a champion last year, and we were looking forward to having

him come back. We're going to miss him very much."

Alan Horowitz, General Manager, Capitol Racing, Les Bois Park

"He always gave you an honest ride, and that's the best compliment you

could give a jockey. He was one of the

better ones. He always followed our

instructions."

Lou Ann Hiatt, Owner, Kuna

Remembering Brian....

When my thoughts go to Brian, I can only see him as a child. He was the cutest, happiest

little boy that laughed all the time. He was alive with life. His feelings were right on his sleeve....

happy, sad, mad, but usually laughing.

Brian was about 5 years old when he got his new pair of red cowboy boots. He loved his red

cowboy boots. It didn't matter if he was wearing pants, shorts, pajamas or swim trunks, he wore

his red boots. He wore his boots so much that he rubbed blisters on the inside of both his calves. His Dad decided he needed to medicate

them, so he pulled out the iodine and swiped one of his calves. Brian began screaming, jumping and crying because his calf hurt so badly. His

Dad said..."Does it hurt really bad?" Brian said, "Yes!" Before Brian could catch a breath, his Dad swiped the other calf. Brian began to grab

the other calf, jumping and screaming. He jumped around so much that everyone started laughing watching him grab one calf, then the other.

Before long, Brian was crying and laughing right along with us. Then, they slapped a couple band aids on both his legs.....so he could put on his

favorite red boots.

It was destine that Brian be a rider. We would put Brian on

"Pitch", the family lab, throw the ball, so Brian could get a "seat". In the evenings

after bath time, Brian would be outfitted in his pajamas with his dad's helmet,

goggles and whip watching TV and "riding" the arm of the sofa.

For the rest of my life, I will remember Brian trying to catch up with Grandpa

McCoy to go to Frosty Freeze..... hobbling while trying to put his red boots on,

running and yelling "Wait for me, Grandpa!" As if Grandpa would ever go to Frosty

Freeze without him. I just bet Brian and Grandpa are waiting for us now....and

laughing.

Love you, Brian!

Your Aunt Betty

January 20, 2008

Dear Kay,

I and my sister Tawnja, had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with your son this summer and I would say we grew to

love him as a brother.

Brian had many great qualities and I think you need recognized as being a wonderful mother. Brian knew how to be

respectful, polite and when he wanted....could show incredible diplomacy. This comes from being taught well in early years

in your home. Brian loved you dearly. He spoke well of you and knew he had disappointed you, at times in his life, but had

a strong desire to improve and to make you proud of him. So, I want to share what I feel you can be proud of; Brian was

intelligent and witty. Oh my was he witty, he could make us laugh till we cried. He was a good horseman and taught us a lot

and these are lessons we will continue to use in our stable. He was a GREAT jockey, that boy could ride. He was a hard worker,

many times after galloping or working other horses, he would come back to our barn to help bathe horses, do up legs and

clean/oil feet.

We had horses that definitely knew his voice and would perk up when he showed up yammering away, like he could do.

We have a mare that would pin her ears back at a lot of people and didn't spend a lot of time with her head out of her stall,

but at the sound of Brian's voice, she was at the front of that stall and many times we saw her head dropped right on his chest

while he cooed and baby-talked to her. The summer before, he went undefeated on her, she is a runner and she loved to run

for Brian.

This last summer, Brian was dedicated to becoming a better person. I believe he truly did find Jesus Christ and was trying,

in his way, to do better. One thing is sure; he ruled Les Bois Park. He had a passion for riding, he would study forms, watch

films and dream about how to win races and he got a lot of that done last summer. He ROCKED...I use to tell him, B Long, you

are the man...he had fan clubs and we got a lot of mileage out of teasing him about them. People here in Boise, grew to yell,

not for the horse, but for Brian Long.

I want to thank you for letting me share some of my memories with you. Brian will be sorely missed.

May time heal your heart, but for now, may you find some peace and contentment knowing, you instilled good things in

your son and due to these qualities, not only I, but many others, will continue to love and miss Brian.

Respectfully,

LeiLani Marriott
 
Brian's life was so full; I could write a best seller. Everyone knows he was an exceptionally talented horseman. His Uncle Ronnie said he was the

best, PERIOD. So, I don't need to write about that. Then I thought about a story that Brian enjoyed telling....

He was in Jr. High School and the office called me about the number of times Brian had been absent. I was stunned and knew they had to be

wrong. When I got to the office and went through his file, I found numerous notes "signed by me" excusing him from classes he had missed. I

questioned the school about why they were not suspicious when in several of the notes his name was misspelled as BRAIN and I surely knew how

to spell my son's name. He would laugh and say he should have had a smarter girlfriend.

He would want for me to mention one of the most important days of his life and that was his baptism last November. He was so happy about that.

His Aunt Betty and I both noticed something different in Brian when he came home Christmas. He said grace Christmas Day - pretty sure it was

the one and only time.

During Christmas, one day, Brian, Daron and I went to San Francisco for the afternoon. During lunch, on the 52nd floor

in the Carnelian Room, Brian and Daron got up from the table, walked over to look at the fantastic view. As I watched

my son and daughter from the table, an indescribable feeling came over me - I somehow knew it was a very special moment

and to enjoy every second of what I was experiencing. I am certain that we were blessed and given that precious

time to be 'alone together'. In fact, after Christmas, Brian never failed to mention in his daily phone call just how

special that day was with just the three of us.

Brian's Mom
 
A moment of silence for Brian was observed about a week after his passing at Sunland Park in New Mexico.  Click on the You Tube link below to view
 

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