updated birth_place race birth_date honours article_title name occupation
october 7 , 2008 carencro , louisiana united states red -lrb- 1981 -rrb- mardi gras stakes -lrb- 1981 , 1983 bank , 1994 , 1995 -rrb- cornhusker handicap -lrb- 1993 -rrb- handicap arkansas derby -lrb- 1996 -rrb- new orleans handicap -lrb- 1996 -lrb- -rrb- lone star oaks -lrb- 2001 -rrb- 1977 -rrb- louisiana downs handicap june 13 , 1957 fair lone star park hall of fame -lrb- 2007 -rrb- grounds racing hall of fame -lrb- 1998 -rrb- ronald ardoin
 ron ardoin jockey
ronald ardoin

ronald d. ardoin -lrb- born june 13 , 1957 in carencro , louisiana -rrb- is a retired jockey in american thoroughbred horse racing .
he is one of a number of successful cajun jockeys who began their careers riding in bush track races in louisiana .
in 1973 , at delta downs in vinton , louisiana , ron ardoin earned the first of his 5226 career wins .
during his thirty-one years in racing he won twelve riding titles at louisiana tracks , earning six at the fair grounds race course in new orleans and another six at louisiana downs in bossier city .
ardoin also won a riding title at lone star park in grand prairie , texas .
at oaklawn park race track in hot springs , arkansas , he scored the most significant win of his career when he rode zarb 's magic to victory in the 1996 arkansas derby .
that win led to his second appearance in the kentucky derby , in which he had finished tenth in 1985 , riding zarb 's magic to a thirteenth place result .
on august 20 , 2000 , ron ardoin became the 16th jockey in north america to win 5,000 races when he rode heart of an angel to victory at louisiana downs .
ron ardoin was inducted in the fair grounds racing hall of fame in 1998 and the lone star park hall of fame in 2007 .
after an injury in march 2003 kept him out of racing , ardoin officially retired in early 2004 having won 5226 races .
a resident of haughton , louisiana , ardoin currently works as a jockey 's agent based at louisiana downs .
