Yedsit Hazlewood walked out of Laurel Park Sunday evening a journeyman jockey, having ridden his last race as an apprentice and ending a tumultuous 16 months that saw him nearly die in a car crash, be named an Eclipse Awards finalist, and rise to the top of jockey standings by wins.

Hazlewood's fifth win aboard Pudge Boy Palace (Eclipse Sportswire)

Pick your superlative cliché to attach to his final day as an apprentice and it might be completely valid. The 18-year-old from Panama did go out with a bang and he did make a statement about who should be the outstanding apprentice in 2026 as he won on his last five mounts before surrendering his status as a bug boy.

There wasn’t much fanfare as the spring meet at Laurel wound down on its final day, and the sentiment among everyone in the jockey’s room was divided fairly equally between “sad to see you go” and “glad to see you go.” The kid who had become part of the jockey colony was moving on to the next stop of his career at Ellis Park.

Hazlewood had just piloted Spidey Man to victory for trainer Jamie Ness to win the fourth of his five-in-a-row finale. John DiNatale stopped by the jockey’s room to say his goodbyes. Trainer Jose Corrales had handpicked DiNatale to be Yedsit’s agent when he brought the then-17-year-old to the United States from Panama and became his legal guardian. They shared a hug and a laugh and DiNatale told him not to worry, he was going to do great things.

Hazlewood then joined Angel Cruz and apprentice Emanuel Rosario to study and prepare for his final race aboard Pudge Boy Palace. Cruz, an Eclipse Awards finalist as outstanding apprentice himself in 2014 and 2015, seems to gravitate toward a mentorship role for younger riders. He helped Axel Concepcion along his path to winning the 2024 Eclipse in the apprentice category, and Cruz helped Hazlewood over the last year and a half. Now both were handicapping their next mounts with Rosario and teaching him.

Hazlewood, left, a true student of the game (Eclipse Sportswire)

There was a certain amount if symmetry to Hazlewood riding this horse as his last mount – Corrales was the trainer and the owner. Hazlewood took the even-money favorite wire-to-wire to close out his apprenticeship with 184 wins in 2026 and 321 for his entire time with a weight allowance.

With another riding title at Laurel in hand, Hazlewood returned to the jock’s room to pack up and head to Ellis Park in Kentucky, by way of Horseshoe Indianapolis. He worked with his valet to pack up his things, and one by one his fellow riders came over to say goodbye. Several came over to take selfies and for hugs. Sheldon Russell brought his kids over for a photo.

Hazlewood’s bags were packed and he dragged them out to his car one by one. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to Corrales, who was in Panama. Hazlewood won his last race as an apprentice for the man who saw so much promise in him that he declared the young Panamanian as destined to win an Eclipse Award after his first win.

With Hazlewood’s departure from the apprentice ranks, the next in line for wins as active bug boys are Ronnie Huckaby, based in the Midwest, and Jose E. Vargas, based in the Mid-Atlantic, with 51 wins each.