Churchill Downs Spring Meet Draws Star Jockeys

An absence of fans but an abundance of horses and jockeys could usher in the spring meet at Churchill Downs, which opens for spectatorless racing May 16.

Although daily purses were reduced this spring amid COVID-19 to a projected $559,000 average from last fall's record of more than $771,000, meet-suspensions and delayed openings at many tracks across the country are expected to lead to a concentration of entries at the Louisville track. In turn, riders are following the opportunities.

Besides the usual jockeys on the Kentucky circuit, Hall of Famer John Velazquez and Javier Castellano will ride at Churchill Downs, as will other such high-profile riders as Joel Rosario and Jose Ortiz, their agents said. Last spring all four rode in New York at Belmont Park, where racing is on hold without an established start date. 

They will join a convergence of some riders from Turfway Park, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, and Oaklawn Park—the latter of which grew deeper this year when Martin Garcia and Joe Talamo shifted their tack from California to ride in Arkansas. Yet more jockeys that might otherwise have gone to Indiana Grand or Arlington Park are expected to ride at Churchill due to those meets, like Belmont, currently being idle.

Jockey agent Ron Anderson, who represents Velazquez and Rosario, anticipates a wealth of entries.

"I think it will be like Oaklawn Park toward the end of the meet," he said. "It was chaos trying to get into a race. It wasn't easy, wasn't easy for anybody.

"We're looking at that type of excitement and enthusiasm. They're going to have some huge fields."

Jockeys are not expected to be the only meet newcomers. Several California trainers that sent stables to Oaklawn this year will send them north when Churchill Downs begins opening its barn area next week. 

John Sadler, Richard Baltas, Phil D'Amato, and Jerry Hollendorfer are four such examples, said Churchill Downs racing secretary Ben Huffman, who also mentioned that trainers Todd Pletcher and Tom Proctor are bound with small divisions from the East Coast after diminished Churchill participation in recent years.

They'll be joined by leading East Coast trainer Chad Brown. The four-time Eclipse Award winner said he will have a 24-horse string.

Although his first winner as a trainer came at Churchill in November 2007, his involvement there during prior spring meets over the past decade has largely come in major stakes races and during Derby week. Among Kentucky tracks, Keeneland—which had its spring meet scrapped—was more of an emphasis.

Usually during the month of May, Brown has a string of runners at Monmouth Park to compliment his New York runners at Belmont Park. Neither track has ongoing racing.

Castellano, Ortiz, Rosario, and Velazquez have all won graded stakes for the trainer.

How long these riders remain at Churchill Downs could be tied to their success and when racing resumes in New York, their agents said. 

When Ortiz rides at Churchill, it will be his first riding action in nearly two months after he nursed a sore wrist, which he broke in February, and to take time off during the escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak. To maintain fitness, he has been exercising horses at a farm he owns in Ocala, Fla., and at Casse Trainer Center in the area, according to agent Jimmy Riccio.

"He's ready. He's excited to head to Churchill," Riccio said.

Velazquez and Castellano rode at Oaklawn Park this past weekend after not riding in April, Castellano after testing positive for COVID-19, though he was asymptomatic.

Castellano is "psyched to get back into a routine,"  agent John Panagot said.