How ya’ll doing amigos? The Breeders’ Cup is the biggest money weekend in horse racing. This is the weekend, next to Kentucky Derby (G1), that everyone works hard for. Being a jockey and getting to have these mounts for these big races is a privilege to be part of but also a lot of work. Jockeys have to be up in the morning between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. working horses and checking in with different barns that you might ride for. There is no break in this business. If you have a good horse you may even have to travel and risk losing mounts that day you were gone. For an event as special as the Breeders’ Cup, jockeys have to be in the zone mentally and physically.
The week leading up to Breeders’ Cup, I attending two charity events. One was the Jocktails event where the jockeys were bartenders. It was fun; I was shaking up drinks left and right. Jocktails benefits the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). The other event was for TROTT (Training Racehorses Off The Track) at the Derby restaurant. The TROTT event had a panel of jockeys and trainers. There was a special appearance from Jerry and Ann Moss and Gary Stevens as the host. That event was funny, the panel of speakers told some great stories. I told my story from my previous blog about the loose horse going the wrong way in the race. Everyone was laughing, it would have been funnier if Joe Talamo was there. As Joe would say, ‘WWHHHHATTTT!!’ Tyler Baze was one of the speakers, and to have him in a Breeders Cup mount just after a month of riding and being seventh in the standings, he looks good and ready to keep winning races. We were like kids at a high school reunion, reflecting on the years. It felt like yesterday when I won the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Singletary in 2004.
