Carmouche ‘coming to get those roses’
Kendrick Carmouche is set to become the first Black jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby in eight years, but that’s only a small part of the story he wants to tell.
Growing up in Louisiana as the son of a jockey, Carmouche got an early taste for the lifestyle when he’d wake up at 4:30 a.m. to follow his father to the area bush tracks.
He finally started riding professionally in 2000, at the age of 16, and has enjoyed a 21-year career that has taken him from Louisiana to Texas to Philadelphia and now has him positioned as one of the top jockeys in New York.
He endured a painful six-month recovery from a broken leg suffered in a September 2018 race at Kentucky Downs but has come back to experience some of the greatest achievements of his career, including the 2020 fall meet riding title at Aqueduct and his first Grade 1 victory in December.
And, on May 1 at Churchill Downs, he’ll ride in the Kentucky Derby for the first time.
“If you don’t dream it, it’s never going to happen,” the 37-year-old Carmouche said. “I dreamed it. To be here at this point and how long it took and the hard work that I put in to get to this point … going to the Kentucky Derby, this is icing and everything on the cake.
“You have to polish yourself. You have to ride smart. You have to do all the correct things and grind it out until that happens. This is where I want to be.”
Carmouche will have the Derby ride on Bourbonic, the Todd Pletchertrained colt who won the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at 72-1 odds on April 3 at Aqueduct. He’ll become the first Black jockey in the Kentucky Derby since Kevin Krigger, who finished 17th on Goldencents in 2013.
Black jockeys ruled the Kentucky Derby in its early days, winning 15 of the first 28 races. Oliver Lewis won the inaugural Derby aboard Aristides in 1875. Isaac Murphy won three Derbys in eight years aboard Buchanan (1884), Riley (1890) and Kingman (1891).
These days, Carmouche is among only a handful of Black jockeys in the United States. He says he wants to be an inspiration for aspiring jockeys of all colors and has never experienced racism around the racetrack.
“I think people just need to open their eyes and realize it doesn’t matter what color you are,” he said. “You work hard. You’re an honest person. You want the best for you and your family and the team you’re putting together at the track so you can win races. It’s no black or white. It’s just purple or green, whatever you want to call it. We all bleed the same.”
To hear Carmouche speak about race relations is to hear his father speak about race relations.
Sylvester Carmouche Jr. began riding professionally in 1978 and retired in 2013 at the age of 54 after suffering a broken neck. According to Equibase.com, he finished his career with 1,348 victories and more than $11.6 million in purse earnings.
He said he never was denied opportunities because of his race.
“I never looked at that,” Sylvester Carmouche, 62, said. “People were good to me, and I got a lot of respect. I never had no problem with people.”
Kendrick Carmouche said he learned how to treat people of all races while following his father around tracks as a kid.
“He taught me just to look and pay attention and listen,” he said. “That’s the key thing.”
Kendrick Carmouche first started riding in Louisiana at Delta Downs, Evangeline Downs and Louisiana Downs and in Texas at Sam Houston. In 2001, with the help of former jockey agent Jack Servis, Carmouche moved north and began riding at Philadelphia Park. Carmouche said leaving home wasn’t difficult.
“My parents told me to get the hell out of Louisiana,” Carmouche said. “They told me, ‘Go make yourself your own home.’ People get it twisted. They try to make their home where they’ve been at all their life. You can’t do that. You’ve got to go make your own home with your own family, your own kids.”
Sylvester Carmouche said he and several other family members plan to be in Louisville on Derby Day to watch Kendrick ride.
Kendrick Carmouche has compiled nearly 3,400 career victories and more than $118 million in purse earnings during his career, but he was fortunate it didn’t come to an end in September of 2018.