By Bill Finley
Javier Castellano just finished an historic year in the saddle, one of the best ever for a jockey. He won more races (344) than any jockey and earned more money ($28,120,767) than any other rider. He won 17 Grade I races, seven more than any other jockey and 46 graded stakes, 15 more than anyone else. There was not a single category of any importance where Castellano's name was not on top.
He accomplished all this not only because he is a great rider but he has a remarkable work ethic. With most jockeys, once they hit a peak point in their careers, you'll no longer see them ride the cheap races. Not Castellano. Give him a good mount in a $7,500 claimer for non-winners of two races lifetime and he'll take it every time. He had 1,507 mounts in 2015, surpassed by only by jockey T.D. Houghton (1,556). By way of example, he rode in 506 more races than John Velazquez did.
Yet, Castellano is no shoo-in to get the Eclipse Award over Victor Esspinoza. In fact, he may not even be the favorite. The problem is the “Dancing With The Stars” factor.
This was the year of American Pharoah and, with good reason, just about anything anyone else accomplished in the sport was completely overshadowed. It was the year of Pharoah, Pharoah, Pharoah and more Pharoah. He will be a unanimous 3-year-old male champion, unanimous Horse of the Year and should have been named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. He was the horse we had all been waiting for, for some of us, for a lifetime. And he's expected to carry his human connections to all the applicable Eclipse Awards.
I have no problem with Bob Baffert and the Zayat stable winning awards. Baffert should be trainer of the year and Zayat should be both owner and breeder of the year. The importance of breeding and campaigning the first Triple Crown winner is something that should not be taken lightly. Yet what separates Baffert and Zayat from Espinoza is that in their categories they're not coming up against anyone nearly as formidable as Castellano.
Consider the difference in the year Castellano had versus Espinoza:
Wins: Castellano 344; Espinoza 88.
Earnings: Castellano $28.1 million; Espinoza $15.6 million
Grade I wins: Castellano 17; Espinoza 10
Graded stakes wins: Castellano 45; Espinoza 19.
Total Mounts: Castellano 1,507; Espinoza 495
Winning Percentage: Castellano 23%; Espinoza 18%
One of the reasons Espinoza had such a poor year outside of the Triple Crown is that he devoted a lot of time toward American Pharoah and somewhat less to being a jockey. You're not going to win many races when you're so busy dancing with Karina Smirnoff, appearing on Live with Kelly and Michael and doing autograph appearances.
There simply isn't any comparison. Castellano had the better year–and had the better year by a mile. But is riding a Triple Crown winner, plus all the notoriety (e.g. Dancing With the Stars) that comes with it, such an overwhelming accomplishment that the jockey becomes deserving of one of the highest honors in the sport?
History says no. The Eclipse Awards were instituted in 1971 and prior to that season-ending championship honors were given only to horses and not humans. Thus, only three Triple Crown winning jockeys have ever been eligible for an Eclipse. And of those three, how many won? Zero.
Not only did Ron Turcotte win the Triple Crown aboard the greatest horse ever in Secretariat in 1973 but he was also the regular rider that year of Riva Ridge. The jockey Eclipse in 1973 went to Laffit Pincay Jr. In 1977, Jean Cruguet won the Triple Crown with Seattle Slew. The Eclipse that year went to the sensational young Steve Cauthen. Ironically, it was Cauthen who won the Triple Crown the next year with Affirmed, but he was beaten out for the Eclipse by Darrell McHargue.
None of this is meant as a slight to Espinoza. He did everything right in the Triple Crown, from riding the races well, to showing class and grace every step of the way, and he always had a smile on his face. Unlike few others in racing have ever done, he became a national celebrity and created a tremendous amount of good will and publicity for the sport.
He did a lot of things right. He just didn't have a better year than Castellano, one of the best and most underappreciated jockeys of all time. If Espinoza is holding the Eclipse statute Jan. 16 and not Castellano, the voters will have chosen the wrong jockey.
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