John Velazquez

The owner of the runner-up in last Saturday's GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct has lodged a protest with the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) over the stewards' non-disqualification of the winner by a nose in that race after both an inquiry and a jockey's foul claim regarding the stretch run. Dave Grening of Daily Racing Form first reported the news on Thursday. He quoted Jeff Drown, the owner of second-place finisher Zandon (Upstart), who said that the actions of victor Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and that colt's jockey, Irad...

Jockey John Velazquez will be based primarily at Santa Anita Park for the upcoming meet there that starts Dec. 26, a switch from recent seasons in which the 50-year-old Hall-of-Famer has wintered at Gulfstream Park. Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form first broke the news Monday. TDN left a phone message for Velazquez seeking comment, but it did not yield a return call prior to deadline for this story. The four-time GI Kentucky Derby-winner and co-chairman of the Jockeys' Guild made his decision public Nov. 29 via his agent, Ron...

Lane's End Farm helped raise nearly $50,000 for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) with the auction of 20 hand-crafted surfboards, each individually designed to highlight the nursery's stallion roster. The surfboards were created in partnership with the Cornett advertising agency and the Torrance, California-based Chili Surfboards. Prior to being auctioned off to the highest bidders, the surfboards were on public display at Breeders' Cup partner hotels in the Del Mar area as well as the racetrack over Breeders' Cup weekend. John Velazquez, Mike Smith, Drayden Van Dyke and Victor...

Caressing (Honour and Glory--Lovin Touch, by Majestic Prince), the dam of Eclipse Award winner West Coast (Flatter), passed away due to laminitic conditions at Hermitage Farm Sept. 14. She was 23 years of age and was laid to rest between the paddocks and next to the foaling barn at the Kentucky nursery. Bred by Brereton C. Jones, Caressing was purchased by Hermitage's Carl Pollard for $180,000 at the 1999 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and was a maiden winner at second asking before adding a seven-length victory in the Bassinet S....

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has been named an ambassador for the Jockeys & Jeans fundraiser to be held this year at Monmouth Park Saturday, Sept. 11. A winner of better than 6,000 in his career, Velazquez is also chairman of the board for the Jockeys' Guild and serves on the board for the Permanently Disable Jockeys' Fund (PDJF). "Being a Jockeys & Jeans Ambassador is one of the highest honors our organization can bestow on a person and we take it very seriously," said Jockeys & Jeans President...

1st-Belmont, $83,700, Msw, 5-9, 2yo, 5fT, :56.92, fm, 3 lengths. LUCCI (c, 2, Not This Time--Lucky'stormwarning, by Lookin At Lucky) showed a sharp Keeneland worktab for this unveiling, capped by a half-mile breeze in :47 3/5 (4/23) Apr. 28, and was made a fractional 5-4 favorite. Breaking sweetly from his rail draw, the $290,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling buy quickly scampered clear and showed the way through a modest :22.92 quarter. Pressured harder by Speak Unity (Union Rags) as the pace picked up past a :45.32 half, Lucci stiff-armed that rival...

Malathaat (Curlin), the undefeated filly who is coming off a win in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, could go next in the June 5 GI Belmont S. "It has crossed our minds," Shadwell Farms Vice President and General Manager Rick Nichols said of the Belmont. "One issue would be whether or not we could get John Velazquez. If Medina Spirit (Protonico) wins the [GI] Preakness Stakes., obviously John will have to choose him for the Belmont. No one would blame him for choosing that horse." Nichols said a final decision...

There's been a lot of attention, rightfully so, on Bob Baffert in the wake of his record-breaking seventh GI Kentucky Derby conquest Saturday. But John Velazquez made a little history of his own under the Twin Spires this weekend, becoming just the eighth jockey ever to win both the GI Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the same year. Wednesday, the Hall of Fame rider joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by J.P. Morgan Private Banking and Keeneland to talk Malathaat (Curlin), Medina Spirit (Protonico), his approach to race-riding, potential plans...

Fresh off a Derby-Oaks double, Eclipse Award-winning jockey John Velazquez joined this week's Writers' Room to talk on his rides aboard Malathaat and Medina Spirit and share his experiences as a leading jockey and respected mentor.

As consignor Christy Whitman remembers, it was deathly quiet when Medina Spirit (Protonico) entered the ring as a yearling at the 2019 OBS Winter Mixed sale. She seemed to be the only one paying any attention to him "I knew he wasn't going to bring much because no one was looking at him," she said. A few minutes later, Medina Spirit would be hers, forever remembered as the GI Kentucky Derby winner who sold for $1,000 as a yearling. It's the umpteenth reminder about how beautifully unpredictable this sport can...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Face masks and all, the fans were back at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May--an announced 51,838 of them--and louder than ever. The mint juleps were flowing, the sun was shining and it was Bob Baffert standing in the winner's circle for a record seventh time, passing the legendary Ben Jones at the 147th GI Kentucky Derby. Zedan Racing Stables overachieving Medina Spirit (Protonico), just a $1,000 OBS Winter Mixed Yearling turned $35,000 OBS July breezer, set the pace and dug down gamely beneath Johnny...

LOUISVILLE, KY - His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is smiling somewhere tonight. Shadwell Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) outslugged Search Results (Flatter) by a neck in a battle of unbeatens in a GI Kentucky Oaks for the ages Friday at Churchill Downs. It was another 2 3/4 lengths back to Will's Secret (Will Take Charge) in third. Sheikh Hamdan, who campaigned countless champions and Classic winners across the globe, passed away at 75 in late March. "A million things have been going through my mind," Shadwell...