Garrett Gomez	Javier Castellano
John Velazquez	Kent Desormeaux
NTRA photos

Top jockeys Javier Castellano, Kent Desormeaux, Garrett Gomez, and John Velazquez recently discussed the physical and mental challenges of Kentucky Derby (G1) day with Thoroughbred Times writers Frank Angst and Jeff Lowe.

Castellano has ridden in two previous Derbys, including a seventh-place finish in 2005 on Bellamy Road; Desormeaux has wins aboard Real Quiet in 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 in 14 starts; Gomez finished seventh aboard Southern Rhythm in four starts, and Velazquez finished second on Invisible Ink in 2001 in nine starts.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES: With the first race at 11 a.m., what time do jockeys typically get to Churchill Downs on Derby day?

John Velazquez: It’s a busy day for me, so you’re there early, as early as possible, especially if you’re riding the first two or three races. We’re probably talking about 9 o’clock. Normally it’s a busy day anyway. It’s a long day and I want to get in as early as possible and get ready. All of these things happen right before the races: signing autographs, signing programs, signing memorabilia things for racetrack sponsorships, interviews, photo things. That goes through the whole day. So you want to get in as early as possible, do the homework, look at the races you’re in, look at the scratches. Then you just try to stay busy through the whole day. If you’re riding a lot of horses, you’re pretty busy through the entire day.

Kent Desormeaux: I imagine I’ll have Johnny’s schedule this year [in terms of mounts throughout the day], but the highlight of my career, the year I rode Fusaichi Pegasus, he was the only horse I rode that day. I kept occupied. … Anyone who was closely related to me, immediate family, aunts, uncles, cousins, they were all there. I didn’t get to the jockeys’ room until about 3 p.m. I had breakfast with my immediate family and we had a 30-person lunch with everyone else. We just hung out and talked. I had fun with them. On one of the Racing Forms, I wrote down who would be in front of me and where I’d be during the course of the race. We kind of dreamed the race all day long. And it went almost exactly how I wrote it. That writing is now in the bathroom of my mom’s house. We actually kept it. … I dealt with my butterflies by dealing with family early in the morning. Then I came in around 3 o’clock. The first half of the day was family time, that kept me busy, and then once I arrived, there were 25 programs to autograph.

Garrett Gomez: Usually there’s about 2,500 [laughs].

Desormeaux: 2,500? [Laughs]. In that hour before the race, you start feeling it in your gut. That’s when I just started feeling the race, dreaming it up. “OK. Johnny’s in blue, he’ll probably be in front. Garrett’s in yellow, he’ll probably be behind me. What if this one doesn’t break?” Then you deal with that situation in your mind. I just kept running the race in my head.

TT: Is there a thing you do first when you get to the track?

Gomez: Eat [laughs]. It’s almost like a ritual kind of thing. Everyone has their patterns that they go through. Some go straight to the hot box and sit. Some guys get dressed right away. Some guys get a massage. I mean, like Johnny was saying, you try to get there early, beat the traffic. Actually, when I get there, I take a deep breath because I feel like I’m at home.

Desormeaux: It does feel like that.

Gomez: I can relax. I take a deep breath. I get in my comfort zone where I’m used to being. Then I start to look at what I have in front of me. You kind of know already.

Desormeaux: I think we all hit the hot box and shave. Even if the first thing you do might be a little different, in the interim there, before we get to nailing down our racetrack bible, we pretty much sauna, shower, and shave.

Gomez: It’s the routine.

Javier Castellano: We all have the same routine. Try to get ready as soon as possible, and get ready for each one of the races. I usually have a lunch, lay down, then have a massage. Mostly the jockeys have pretty much the same schedule.

TT: Garrett, you mentioned eating as soon as you get there. You think of a baseball player, who might have a three-hour game but then you compare that to Derby day, where a rider might get to the track at 9 a.m., be in the first race at 11 a.m., and not be in the Derby until 6:15 p.m. You probably need to eat in there somewhere along the line?

Gomez: Most of the time on Derby day, you’re pretty busy doing something. It’s not like any other day. The day is so long and spread out. One race you might have 30 minutes, the next one you might have 45 minutes. Even at 45 though, that’s not long enough to eat if you’re riding the whole card. So you go in and eat and then pretty much you’re tied up all day. You might grab something, a piece of banana, a couple of drinks of water. It’s a long, drawn out day.

Desormeaux: For me, the races are so far apart, it’s a disadvantage because once you get started, you try to stay up for the whole day but it’s impossible. It’s impossible. You amp up to ride and you get—I can make my body burn while sitting here just by amping up. Then once you get out there and come back, you completely cool down. 100% cool down, then you have to re-amp every race, because they don’t come around quick enough. Derby day is so long, so spread out.

Gomez: It’s like going out to ride the first race ten different times.

Desormeaux: I’m so exhausted on those kinds of days.

Gomez: You’re dealing with a lot of people, crowds, family.

TT: And John, just before the Derby you get hit with that extra long wait between races?

Velazquez: It’s a hurry-up-and-wait situation. You’re ready, you go through the whole day. And then you have to quiet down before you get pumped up again to do it once more in probably the most important race of your life. For most of the time I’m there, I’m busy. But then like Kent was saying, all of a sudden you have an hour between races, the race before the Derby and then the Derby. It gets to be a little too long. You’re kind of like, “Come on, let's get on with it.” Plus, there’s so much expectation. Whether you go in with a good horse or a bad horse, you’re dreaming about winning that race. It doesn’t matter what you ride. You’re there; you want to win it. There’s so much expectation and then finally you’re there and it goes so fast. And if you finish nowhere, you’re heart-broken. And you’re so tired.

Gomez: And you have to wait the whole year again.

Velazquez: Yeah that, and you’re so tired, basically heartbroken because you didn’t win the race. There’s so much excitement with it. So much excitement going into it. That hour, you just want to get out there.

Gomez: You do get a bit of a dress rehearsal on the day before though. You get 45 minutes before the [Kentucky] Oaks.

Velazquez: It’s one of those things I always find myself, it doesn’t matter what you ride, you’re there the whole day, you’re so excited about it, so much time, and then the race is over. If you don’t win, you’re like “[expletive].” I didn’t mean to say that word. It’s just the thought of, “Oh, another year has passed by.” The day is enjoyable though when you’re there. It’s just so much excitement.

Desormeaux: There’s just so much anticipation.

TT: I know you guys get asked quite a bit about what it’s like coming onto the track to “My Old Kentucky Home,” I was curious what it’s like breaking from the gate in a 20-horse field. That has to be a unique experience.

Desormeaux: I think the most amazing thing is when the announcer says, “We’re loading in the gate.” Between that and the last one going in, the crowd...

Velazquez: It’s unbelievable.

Desormeaux: Yeah, when the crowd gives their rebel yell, that roar, it picks you up. You can feel it, not just hear it. It goes through you. I can’t explain it.

Velazquez: It’s not like anything else. In turning for home, I don’t hear anything.

Desormeaux: I’ve ridden mediocre horses on that day and they’ve never run as good as that time. So not only do I hear it, but the horses hear it. I mean, it is amazing. That roar.

Velazquez: It’s unbelievable. But when I’m there—unless I’m not really in it at the quarter pole—but in the races where I’m in the bunch, trying to get position, or trying to get a spot to run, I don’t hear anything. I don’t know why, I don’t hear anything. I’m just thinking about getting my horse to the best spot where he can win. I haven’t been fortunate enough to win but I’m just trying. The only two times I’ve heard the crowd when turning for home have been the two times the horses were, “fiff,” not that good. Then you can just watch the race to see who wins it.

Desormeaux: It’s like the movie “Bull Durham.” When you’re in the heat of the battle, you’re too busy hissing, scratching, clawing, trying to make your horse go faster to be noticing anything else. When you’re at the back of the pack, that’s when you notice that stuff.

Frank Angst is senior writer of Thoroughbred Times

Jeff Lowe is staff writer of Thoroughbred Times