JAVIER CASTELLANO EARNED HALL CALL
Top jockey one of 11 inducted to Racing Hall of Fame today
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Javier Castellano was one of the top earning jockeys in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and set a record of $28.1 million in 2015 for earnings. He has won 4.664 races and has earned $276 million in his career that started in 1996. He was the winner of the Eclipse Award in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Those are just some of the accomplishments that led Castellano to being named one of the 11 candidates to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The ceremony is 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion. Admission to the event is free.
Castellano has won the Travers a record five times and captured the 2006 Preakness with Bernardini and earlier this year aboard Cloud Computing. Castellano’s top mounts include 2004 horse of the year and Hall of Fame mem-
ber Ghostzapper, as well as champions Flintshire, Honor Code, Princess of Sylmar, Dayatthespa and Zagora.
The 11 inductees Friday include five jockeys, three trainers and three horses. Along with Castellano jockeys Victor Espinoza, Robby Albarado, Garrett Gomez and Craig Perret are being inducted; trainers Mark Casse, John Sherrifs and David Whitley; and horses Gio Ponti, Goldikova and Kona Gold.
Castellano said that getting into the hall of fame is an honor and he is blessed to have made it.
“I am very grateful and I thank God for this award,” Castellano said. “It means a lot to me because you have been working for so many years to get to being established with the best jockeys in the country. It is truly am honor and I am very thankful. I appreciate it. It just shows all the hard work I have been doing for years. I have been learning so much over the years from people and fine horseman.”
Trainers at Saratoga Race Course have high regard for Castellano and he has been one of the top choices to ride their horses for years.
A recent example of Castallno’s skill came Wednesday when he had a perfect trip aboard Carina Mia in the Shine Again Stakes at Saratoga. As a 1-2 favorite, the pressure was on Castellano and trainer Chad Brown to win. After quick opening fractions, Carina Mia needed an opening to run through, which Castellano was patient enough to find en route to victory.
“It’s not always easy to ride the (1-2) shots,” Brown said of Castellano. “He has a lot of skill, a lot of judgment. (The Shine Again) is an example of why he’s going over to the Hall of Fame.”
On Thursday Castellano rode the Gary Contessa trained Turco Bravo Birdstone Stakes.
Since winning last year’s Birdstone Stakes, Turco Bravo has lost six straight races.
“Javier Castellano has such a soft touch on a horse and if you look at Turco Bravo’s races, his races with Castellano up have been his best ever, so I am hoping that reuniting him at this distance with Castellano will work out,” Contessa said. “Castellano is the greatest rider in America right now. He makes the right decisions, he is in the right place at the right time and he senses pace. When you are in a situation like I am right now with Truco Bravo, you couldn’t ask for a better rider, he has got it all. He could ride any kind of horse. He is on the lead when he suppose to be, he takes back when he is suppose to, I mean he is usually in the right place at the right time.”
Castellano rode Turco Bravo to a fourth-place finish. Castellano said he knows horse racing because it is in his blood and he is happy that all the work he has put in over the years led him to the Hall of Fame. My father was a jockey, I learned a lot,” Castellano said. “He was my role model all my life. My uncle, my brother was a jockey too and I have been growing up with racing my entire life and I am very thankful for that and learning so many things through my dad and it is good to see that all the hard work paid off.”