Jockeys Frankie Dettori and John Velazquez are heading east as planned after the end Santa Anita . Park‘s Classic Meet on April 9, with Dettori’s schedule for the rest of the year expected, while Velazquez will head to Kentucky and ride at Keeneland And Churchill Downs via the Kentucky Derby (G1) May 6 before heading to New York for the rest of the spring and summer.
“As you can see, both of these guys are elite racers, completely professional,” special agent Ron Anderson said by phone on April 8. “In Frankie’s case, he brought the to enthusiasm for the game that we’ve never seen. wins, he gets excited because of the owners and he makes the crowd follow… I still call him a kid because the first time I met him he was 15 years old and I used to sneak look at him in the back at Hollywood Park because he’s not old enough to be licensed and the rest is history.”
Dettori, who announced in November that 2023 will be his last year in the saddle and that he will call it a career after the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in Santa Anita on March 3-4 11, got off to a great start on opening day, December 26, winning three races, including the San Antonio Stakes (G2) with Bob Baffert’s national grammar . The internationally renowned racer made it to the Classic Meet finale on Sunday in third place on the leaderboard with 24 wins and third in stakes won with six pluses while showing the heat. His youthful enthusiasm has many fans and riders hoping he will reconsider his retirement at the end of the year.
“It’s up to him,” Anderson said. “I’m just a good listener at this point. I have to think, if things go well, he might reconsider. He’s going to go back and forth to England with some obligations. Instantly speaking, he will ride at Keeneland at least until April 17th and then he’ll be in Newmarket. We’re going to have a yard for 20 horses in the Derby here on May 6 and I have to think something is on the way, so he might have the option of coming back on Derby Day. It’s all up in the air, so we’ll see.”
Hall of Famer Velazquez, the race’s all-time top earner and three-fight Kentucky Derbies winner, entered the day with 17 wins, placing eighth on the leaderboard with two winnings. bet.
“As for Johnny, he’s going to Keeneland this week and then Churchill. He’s going back to Belmont Park the day after the Derby like he’s been doing for years. As for the Derby riding, we’re good. I’ll check with Tim Yakteen on Rebirth (Tuesday in the Arkansas-G1 Derby April 1) and we’ll have to wait and see.”
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
