One record that won’t be broken at this year’s Kentucky Derby or likely any time soon is the five Derby victories by Hall of Fame jockeys Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack. Arcaro’s first was on Larwin in 1938 and last on Hill Gail in 1952. Hartack saddled his first winner in 1957 on Iron Liege. His last came in 1969 on Majestic Prince.
The most dominant run by a jockey had to be by Calvin Borel. He won in 2007 on Street Sense, 2009 on Mine That Bird and 2010 on Super Saver, giving Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher his first and still only Kentucky Derby victory. Mine That Bird went off at 50-1 online horse odds to become the second-biggest upset winner of the Derby behind 91-1 Donerail in 1913.
Latin American jockeys have taken control of Churchill Downs. It started in 2011 when John Velazquez, born in Puerto Rico, won on Animal Kingdom. Mexico’s Mario Gutierrez won in 2012 on Super Saver. Last year Joel Rosario, from the Dominican Republic, won on Orb. Rosario has another early Kentucky Derby betting favorite this year in Top Billing, the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. Venezuela-born Javier Castellano could have two Derby contenders to choose from in Honor Code and General a Rod. Castellano has never won the Derby but was the 2013 Eclipse Award winner.
Hall of Famer Gary Stevens is a three-time Derby winner – Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Silver Charm (1997) – who retired in 2005 but returned last year in surprising Kentucky Derby betting news and was sixth in the Derby on Oxbow. He has a big Kentucky Derby favorite this year with Candy Boy. Stevens is 51 and thus will have to stay active for a few years to set a record: the oldest Derby-winning jockey was Bill Shoemaker, who was 54 when he rode Ferdinand in 1986.
It appears that two more droughts will continue for jockeys at the 2014 Derby. The first female jockey in the race was Diane Crump, who finished 15th in 1970 aboard Fathom. Only a handful of women have raced in the Derby since then and none have come close to winning. The best finish for a female jockey was New Jersey native Rosie Napravnik taking fifth in the 2013 Derby on Mylute.
Meanwhile, African-American jockeys used to be very commonplace at Churchill Downs. A whopping 13 of the 15 riders in the first Derby in 1875 were African-American and black jockeys won 15 of the first 28 runnings of the Derby. However, no African-American has won it since Jimmy Winkfield went back-to-back in 1901-02. African-American Kevin Krigger finished 17th in last year’s Derby on Goldencents. Before him, the most recent black jockey in the Derby was Marlon St. Julien, seventh in 2000.
The only jockey to ride a Kentucky Derby winner and train one was John Longden, who rode the Triple Crown winner Count Fleet in 1943 and trained Hartack’s Majestic Prince in 1969.