Javier Castellano

A four-time Eclipse Award winner and a member of racing's Hall of Fame since 2017, Venezuelan native Javier Castellano has won the 2023 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award via a nationwide vote of his fellow riders. Castellano, 45, will be honored in a Runhappy Winner's Circle ceremony at Santa Anita this spring. Married to his wife, Abby, Castellano, who immigrated to the United States in June of 1997, has three children, Kayla, Sienna and Brady and is the son-in-law of Terry Meyocks, National Director of the Jockeys' Guild. Presented annually...

Jockeys Daniel Cedeno, Javier Castellano, Terry Houghton, Edwin Maldonado, and Willie Martinez have been named by Santa Anita Park as finalists for the 2023 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Determined by a vote of their fellow riders nationwide, the Woolf Award can only be won once in a lifetime. It has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950. All of the finalists, except Castellano, are appearing on the ballot for the first time. The Woolf Award was named in honor of the late George Woolf, known as "The Iceman,"...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week.California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/11/2022 Licensee:  Derrick Brown, owner Penalty: Suspension Violation:...

Simplification (Not This Time) became the 17th stakes winner and third in the last six days for his in-form sire with a convincing victory in this first step on the road to the GI Florida Derby and--perhaps--beyond. An even fourth on his 5 1/2-furlong debut on the synthetic track Oct. 1, the bay overwhelmed a group of Florida-bred maidens by 16 3/4 lengths Oct. 23, good for a 92 Beyer. He couldn't put them back to back, faltering to be third at long odds-on Nov. 13, but had his fair...

Hall of Fame riders John Velazquez and Mike Smith were re-elected as co-chairmen at the Jockeys' Guild's annual meeting, which was held virtually Dec. 7. The riders in attendance also re-elected Javier Castellano and Julien Leparoux, along with newly elected Quarter Horse jockey James Flores, as vice-chairs; Joel Campbell as treasurer; and Rodney Prescott as secretary. In addition, Alex Birzer, Joe Bravo, and Drayden Van Dyke were re-elected to the board of directors. The members reviewed 2021 financials and the 2022 budget and had a variety of speakers including Senator...

1st-Aqueduct, $80,000, Msw, 11-12, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:26.45, my, head. KATHLEEN O. (f, 2, Upstart--Quaver {SP}, by Blame) was the buzz horse in the Friday opener from Aqueduct, as she was bet down all the way into 13-4 from a morning line of 8-1, but jumped only fairly from the widest stall in a field of seven. Racing in a detached last while trying to find her footing in the off going, the dark bay was ridden patiently by Javier Castellano while still clearly last into the turn, but began...

Godolphin homebred Essential Quality (Tapit) gave his connections a few anxious moments in the stretch, but, in the end, he proved why he is a champion with a gutsy score in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Saturday evening. Hustling up to contest the early pace, the 1-2 favorite allowed Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) to take control, settling on his outside hip through a :23.83 first quarter and :48.21 half-mile. The top two continued to duke it out as three-quarters went in 1:12.08 with the rest of the field watching...

This year, the annual release of a commemorative Maker's Mark Bourbon bottle in partnership with Keeneland will benefit LexArts, greater Lexington's premier cultural development, advocacy, and fundraising organization, to support its initiatives at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden in Lexington. Murphy was a Hall of Fame jockey who remains the only rider to win the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark H. in the same year (1884). The Art Garden is the first park in the U.S. to honor African American jockeys, who were the earliest Black professional athletes....

Search Results (Flatter) gave her sire a second 3-year-old stakes winner Saturday, outgaming pacesetting Miss Brazil (Palace Malice) in the final furlong to take Saturday's $250,000 Busher S. at Aqueduct and earning 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks in the process. Sent off an easy-in-the market 2-1 second favorite after touching 3-2 early on, Search Results was put into the race by Javier Castellano and took up pace-pressing duties from second as Miss Brazil led them along through controlled splits of :24.53 and :49.64. The duo raced...

New York has lagged other racing states in addressing changes to whip use designed to be more humane to Thoroughbreds. But not being an early adopter of controversial new rules can sometimes be an advantage, because regulators are able to assess what is and isn't working in other jurisdictions before making potentially radical modifications to long-standing practices. That was the tone of discussion during the Oct. 19 teleconference meeting of the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), which conducted what amounted to a 2 1/4-hour opinion-gathering dialogue on whether or...

Magic Attitude (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) made her Stateside debut in style with a late-surging victory as the heavy favorite in the GI Belmont Oaks Saturday, the first Grade I event of the track's fall meet. Caboosing the quintet early, the even-money favorite--who was receiving Lasix for the first time--bided her time at the back as second-choice Antoinette (Hard Spun) clocked a half-mile in :49.99. Still last entering the far turn, the bay swung out three wide in the lane and unleashed a furious rally, powering clear late for a decisive...

When Klaravich Stables' Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) made his one and only previous appearance beneath the Twin Spires on [real] Derby Day 2019, the 320,000gns purchase out of the 2017 Tattersalls October sale returned $19.20 to his happy backers in the GIII American Turf S. Let go at the exact same quote as the least-fancied of three Chad Brown entries for Saturday's GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S., the 4-year-old settled last but one, was produced wide into the lane by Javier Castellano and rocketed home to...