LEXINGTON, Ky. – The jockey John Velazquez, 53, inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2012, won three races at Keeneland’s spring meeting in April. Last October, he won six. Velazquez has put together good Keeneland meets before, but this one came somewhat out of nowhere.
Velazquez won five of Saturday’s 11 races, and seven races over the span of the three-day racing week. He won four stakes overall and three graded races, and his mounts earned about $1.6 million. Velazquez could wind up having his best Keeneland meet in terms of earnings, and he first rode at the track in 1994. He enters the second week of the meet the leading jockey with a glittering 7-for-20 record.
“It feels good for an old man,” Velazquez said Sunday, a couple races before he rode Schwarzenegger to victory in the Indian Summer Stakes. “Listen, I’m very glad for all the opportunities at this age. Thank god the horses are responding.”
It’s not just Keeneland. Velazquez’s mounts already have earned more than $16 million this year, and he’s on track for his best earnings year since 2019. Velazquez’s 20 graded stakes wins mark his highest total since he won 21 in 2021.
In fact, Velazquez, represented by agent Kiaran McLaughlin, came to Keeneland expecting to ride the first week, then shuttle back and forth between Kentucky and New York. He is named on mounts here Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday this week.
“All of a sudden, I come here and I’m riding all these horses. I told my agent, you got to take me off a few. I’m not fit enough to ride 10 a day. I’m usually on two a day, three a day, four a day. Sometimes on Saturday I ride seven or eight, and all of a sudden I’m on 10!” Velazquez said.
He’s not just riding – he’s winning.
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