Inside the Jockeys’ Room with Smith and Talamo

Joe Talamo and Mike Smith. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Jockeys Mike Smith and Joe Talamo take America's Best Racing's readers inside the jockeys' room in 2015. Hall of Famer Smith has more than 5,200 wins, including the 2005 Kentucky Derby, 1993 Preakness Stakes and 2010 and 2013 Belmont Stakes. He is also known for being the regular rider of 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta and 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull. Talamo was the 2007 Eclipse Award winner as outstanding apprentice jockey and counts wins in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby among his more than 1,500 victories.
Throughout the series Smith and Talamo share insight into all kinds of questions including how they became jockeys, what goes on between races, whom they admire and what type of movies and fashion style they prefer.
In this edition of Inside the Jockeys' Room we learn how jockeys are paid, their goals for this year and who is currently reading "Wooden."

At what age did you first ride a horse and when did you realize you wanted to be a jockey?
SMITH: I started riding before I can remember. When I was seven or eight, I was really on a horse a lot, riding, and knew I wanted to race.
TALAMO: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t riding horses. My dad put me on my first horse when I was just a few months old. I wanted to be a jockey after my first trip to the racetrack when I was seven or eight.
How are jockeys paid? Do you get paid the same day as the race? Who pays you – the track or owner? How much do you pay your agent?
SMITH: Jockeys are paid from the racetrack. We get paid the week after we ride, once a week on Thursday. Jockeys pay their agents.
TALAMO: Each jockey receives a check at the end of the pay period from the racing office at the track. Jockey agents make 25% of whatever his or her jockey earns.
What was your lucky break?
SMITH: Being born
TALAMO: I consider myself extremely lucky. My dad introduced me to a lot of good people at the racetrack. I’d have to say Bobby Frankel gave me my lucky break though; I’d be in New York if it wasn’t for him. Who knows where I’d be now. I also think Nashoba’s Key, California Flag, and I Want Revenge opened up a lot of doors for me and, above all, I haven’t been seriously injured.
Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
TALAMO: Elizabeth Anne Ellis
TALAMO WITH GIRLFRIEND ELIZABETH ELLIS

Photo courtesy of Joe Talamo
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
SMITH: There are so many qualities. I like all of the good ones that they have and even a couple of the bad ones.
TALAMO: Sense of humor and being down to earth
What is the quality you most like in a man?
SMITH: Loyalty, learn to forgive. Men forgive easier than women do. Loyalty, no matter what.
TALAMO: Loyalty
What are you reading now (book, magazine, etc.)? Would you recommend it?
SMITH: I truly wish I read more, I really do. I don’t. It’s something I’m going to do when I retire.
TALAMO: I’m reading “Wooden” by John Wooden - again. I also read about real estate investing and money management. My favorite is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki.
Name five things you cannot live without:
SMITH: My lord and savior, a good woman, a good glass of wine, a really fast horse, and a little money doesn’t hurt. Not necessarily in that order!
TALAMO: Of course, my family and Elizabeth, golf, fishing, and horse racing.
I think this will be the year I finally …
SMITH: … win the Triple Crown.
TALAMO: … turn 25.
Who or what makes you laugh?
SMITH: So many things.
TALAMO: I love pulling pranks on people, especially my parents. I’ve done it my entire life, but their reactions are still priceless.
SMITH ABOARD ROYAL DELTA

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
What celebrities are you friends with? Have you done anything cool with them, either at the racetrack or away from the track?
SMITH: I have a few celeb friends.
TALAMO: I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many celebrities through the industry. I went to dinner with Jim Rome and his wife, Janet. They are very nice people, and they both do a lot of good for the industry.
You can never have too many ... 
SMITH: … glasses of red wine on your day off when UBER is driving you.
TALAMO: … graded stakes wins.