Q & A: Johnny V On What It Takes to Win the Derby

There are few, if any, better authorities on riding and winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) than Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. The 51-year-old native of Puerto Rico has officially won the Derby three times, with Animal Kingdom  (2011), Always Dreaming   (2017), and Authentic   (2020), and crossed the wire first with Medina Spirit  (2021). His 24 Derby mounts place him third all-time behind only Mike Smith (28) and Bill Shoemaker (26). 

Derby mount number 25 will be Sham Stakes (G3) winner Reincarnate . The Good Magic   colt won the Sham at Santa Anita Park for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert before moving to Tim Yakteen's barn and earning Derby points with third-place finishes in the Rebel Stakes (G2) and Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. 

Velazquez sees good reasons to believe in Reincarnate's chances. If he doesn't pull off what would be a shocking result, it won't be for lack of preparation. Johnny V spoke with BloodHorse about his best and worst Derby rides, how he strategizes for the Derby, and why Reincarnate might surprise his doubters. 

BloodHorse: What do you like about Reincarnate coming into the Kentucky Derby?

John Velazquez: We liked him from the beginning. He's a very talented horse. He's getting into his mind. Body-wise he was always there, but mind and body were not connected; he was very, very green. He looks great, obviously, and is doing really good and that's what you hope for.

BH: What did you take away from being aboard for his last two starts at Oaklawn? 

JV: In the Rebel he broke really poorly. He got squeezed going into the first turn on a sloppy track. He'd never been that far back, on a track like that, and he never gave up.

I think if he'd gotten loose at the eighth-pole he would have won the race, no doubt in my mind, with all the trouble that we got. I had to stop and come back to finish third.

Last time (in the Arkansas Derby), he broke well, we got a great position, I think he just got a little bit tired. We had so much rain (in California) and it was train and stop, train and stop. Every time it rained we couldn't send the horses to the track, so you had to walk the horse or jog him in the barn, whichever you could. He missed a lot of training going into that. 

But the weather was great in California the last three weeks so he's been training constantly and is coming into this race the way that you'd expect.



BH: There are a lot of guys riding in the Derby for the first time this year. What advice would you have for someone who hasn't done it before?

JV: The Derby is probably one of the toughest races to ride. You prepare yourself really well and try to anticipate anything that can happen in the race because whatever you think that you know, when you come to the Derby, it's a totally different race than every other race out there.

BH: When you think back on your Derby winners, can you remember a particular moment in one of those races where you had to do something that wasn't part of your plan?

JV: Animal Kingdom was my first one and, I think, my best ride. We broke OK, then I hustled him the first time by the wire just to get some sort of position. I was mid-pack, 12th or so. Once I got him going he was going pretty easy. By the time we got to the half-mile pole I had to make a decision—would I stay behind these two horses or squeeze into a spot? So I pushed him to get to the spot and he took it. Then passing the three-eighths I had to squeeze him again to get a spot that was closing. He went there and once I got into that spot, just a sixteenth of a mile to the quarter-pole, I pushed him out, and right by the quarter-pole he got into the clear and I was like, oh my God, this horse still hasn't done anything yet. 

Now I'm thinking how he's only run on the grass and the Polytrack. Those things go through my head because I've done my homework. I'm thinking, go easy with him so you don't get him going up and down. I tried to ask him just little by little. And by the three-sixteenths pole I tell him, "OK, let's go," and he starts running away from the other horses and I won the Derby. I was just like, oh my God, this is incredible. That was a dream trip, but it was also all about preparation. 

With the other three it was more about strategy than anything else. They were speed horses or close to the lead. I had to make sure they broke out of there and got a position. 

With Always Dreaming there were two other speed horses. I forced the pace, the other two went, and I sat down between them. By the time we're into the first turn, I'm laying second. It's one of those things you dream about but think it's not going to happen like that. Now I'm in the position I want where he was comfortable and settled down for me. 

With Authentic, I was all the way on the outside. There were three horses with speed so I was going to watch the other speed horses to see what they do. I'm going to come out running, little by little, and wait to see what they're going to do. I let them force the pace but they didn't go and by the time I went past the wire the first time, I just drafted in and I ended up being on the lead. 

Medina Spirit was like that too. I come out running to force the pace and if nobody else forces the pace then I'll be on the lead and that's what happened. I just came out running to the wire the first time and all of a sudden I end up getting the lead.

BH: What was your worst Derby trip?

JV: My worst was Three Ring (1999, finished last of 19). She broke a little slow. She wasn't very big and we got bounced around. The saddle went forward, the pad flew away. Then I'm, like, on top of her neck. What a nightmare. I never had as much trouble in a race as that one. But we both came back good.

BH: So what is the strategy with Reincarnate?

JV: I'm not going to tell you my strategy for everyone to read! But I can tell you I'll do my homework and see what I think the scenarios are going to be. I'll talk to Tim and see what he thinks about the race. 

There's always Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Maybe Plan D and E. Plan A and Plan B are the most important ones because you might have to change them right from the gate. Probably the first sixteenth or eighth of a mile you know if it's going to be one of the plans that you want.

BH: Do you think you prepare better or differently than other riders?

JV: I was taught this from the beginning, when I started riding, having Angel (Cordero) by my side. You have to learn from all of the mistakes that everybody makes. The winners are easy but the mistakes are the ones you want to learn from because you don't want to make those same mistakes. 

You also have to learn the styles of the other riders and even the other trainers. Those are things you learn along the way and you have in your head. All of that comes into play and it's all in your homework. A lot of the jockeys have a style that you know about, what they like to do, and they stick to it, so you can read that. But the good ones change all the time and you know you can't anticipate them as much so you have to watch the horse. Is that horse ahead of you going to lug out or come in? And all of that has to come into your head very quickly.

All those things happen in less than two minutes and in a sixteenth of a mile it's just seconds you have to think about it.

BH: Are there any Derby horses you rode that should have won but didn't?

JV: Fortunately, no. I had plenty of horses that got into trouble but those were ones that were in the back and they never showed up. The ones that were second or third had good trips and nothing was going to change those outcomes.

BH: What does riding in the Derby mean to you at this point in your career?

JV: I'm one of the lucky ones. At my age, to be here, and to have the opportunity that I have right now, is a blessing to me. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love what I do. The excitement and everything that you get is still like it was 25 years ago, so the fire is still burning. The day the fire doesn't burn, I don't feel that excitement, I better say goodbye.