"Jockeys" gets second season

Animal Planet has renewed its reality series Jockeys for a second season, and filming began Saturday at Santa Anita, according to track announcer Trevor Denman.

Spoiler alert: Joe Talamo's girlfriend Elizabeth Ellis watches on television as her 19-year-old beau wins the Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct on board I Want Revenge. Talamo has been a central character, and I Want Revenge could provide the series with a fresh plot line and timely link to the Derby.

I've only watched three or four episodes of Jockeys, but I've largely found it to be cookie-cutter reality television, complete with interviews and plot lines that come off as scripted, not to mention heavy editing that stretches the term reality.

The show's attempts to build up a rivalry between young Talamo and journeyman Aaron Gryder were laughible. Check out this great dialogue:

Gryder: "I hate losing, but I REALLY hate losing to Joe Talamo."
Talamo: "It would feel great to beat AARON GRYDER."

Random race fan: "My favorite rider today is Aaron Gryder. I can get about $200 if I win. [EDIT to new clip] He's a great rider."

As Gryder rides out through the tunnel, the fan yells, "It's that time of day. It's time for you to win and for me to grin."

If the intent was to show bettor indifference to jockeys, as long as they cash a ticket, the clip succeeded. If it was an attempt to portray that particular bettor as an Aaron Gryder fan, epic fail!

Other annoyances include Denman's overdubbed race calls, which repeat over and over the jockeys' names instead of the horses. Also, the cut-up race clips completely fail to demonstrate the story, drama, or rhythm of a horse race.

That being said, Jockeys is a show with considerable potential, as it gives viewers an educational glimpse into the not always glamorous life of its subjects. Many of the fans I talked to at Santa Anita on Saturday seemed to genuinely like the show.