Desormeaux to Ride Regularly at Golden Gate Fields

A few months after shifting his tack to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots from Santa Anita Park, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux has returned to California to ride—this time at Golden Gate Fields, according to a release from the Bay Area track.

Desormeaux struggled to gain traction this winter at Fair Grounds in his home state of Louisiana, riding three winners from 59 mounts over a meet that began Nov. 28. He last rode there Jan. 23, finishing fourth on Guitar Slim in the day's seventh race, his lone mount on the program. He then rode a couple of horses at Golden Gate Jan. 26, and neither placed.

Last week's card at Golden Gate was canceled when the track underwent repairs for a hot-water issue caused by a gas leak in the Albany area surrounding Golden Gate.

"A couple of trainers (at Golden Gate) said they would ride me if I came here," said Desormeaux, who will be represented by agent J. R. Pegram. "I'm giving it a shot. I'm all in."

In an interview with BloodHorse last fall, the veteran rider said one of his goals remains to catch Hall of Famer and fellow Cajun Eddie Delahoussaye as the 15th-winningest rider in North American history. Delahoussaye has ridden 6,384 winners; Desormeaux stands at 6,031—a tally compiled by Equibase that does not include overseas wins. The jockey rode for a period in Japan and Europe.

Carl Gambardella (6,349), John Velazquez (6,162), and Johnny Longden (6,032) stand between Desormeaux and Delahoussaye. Of the three, only Velazquez is active.

Desormeaux, 49, won his third Kentucky Derby (G1) in 2008 aboard Big Brown  after victories aboard Real Quiet (1998) and Fusaichi Pegasus (2000). 

The jockey later teamed with horses trained by his older brother, Keith—for whom he rode Exaggerator  to win the 2016 Preakness Stakes (G1), his seventh win in a Triple Crown race.

His wins and earnings have fallen in recent years. He won with 36 of 314 rides in 2019 with his mounts earning approximately $2.6 million. He is 1-for-16 in 2020 with his mounts making $36,250.

He was the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice of 1987 and added Eclipse Awards as outstanding jockey in 1989 and 1992. 

Desormeaux has been named aboard mounts at Golden Gate from Feb. 6-8.