Husband-wife duo make Kentucky Derby team

Joe Sharp is saddling his first Kentucky Derby horse. If he needs some advice, he can turn to wife Rosie Napravnik, a now-retired jockey and the only woman to ride in all three Triple Crown races.

LOUISVILLE, KY. >> Rosie Napravnik steers Girvin off the track at Churchill Downs under the watchful eyes of trainer Joe Sharp.

They head back to the barn together, with Napravnik in the saddle and Sharp walking alongside the horse.

Napravnik was once one of the top jockeys in North America before retiring. Now she works as an assistant trainer and exercise rider for her husband Sharp, who will saddle Louisiana Derby winner Girvin in the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

“I think the biggest benefit is the fact that I don’t have to pay her,” he joked.

After meeting at the racetrack when Napravnik rode a horse for Sharp, they started dating and married in 2011. They split their time between Louisville in the warm weather months and New Orleans in the winter.

Away from the racetrack, the couple has two young sons, Carson and Tucker.

They’ve has reversed roles over the last three years. Napravnik, 29, went from being the celebrity in the relationship — the only woman to ride in all three Triple Crown races — to retirement. She was in the background during Sharp’s emergence as an upcoming trainer at 32.

“I’ve been asked if Joe was like my boss, and it’s more like he’s my mentor,” she said. “A lot of little things come up, and he just handles them.”

Sharp said, “We’ve always had a good balance when it comes to that. I was always a big fan.”

As a jockey, Napravnik’s job was getting a horse to the starting gate. Now, she’s preoccupied with every little step in the animal’s preparation, training and well-being.

“There’s a little more nerves involved,” she said. “I’ve learned so much in the barn. On the people side, it’s just been a complete education and it’s good that Joe is there to show me some things.”

Sharp spent a year as a jockey himself before becoming an assistant trainer. In 2014, he opened his own 70-horse stable the same year Napravnik retired on the spot after winning the Breeders’ Cup Distaff while seven weeks pregnant with her first son.

Napravnik is regularly asked if she’s planning a comeback.

The answer is no.

GARRY JONES — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Trainer Joe Sharp, right, leads Kentucky Derby entrant Girvin, left, ridden by his wife Rosie Napravnik, a former jockey, back to Barn 33 following a morning gallop May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.