‘Let’s Talk’ Delves Into Jockeys’ Mental Health

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TDN’s ‘Let’s Talk’, a podcast series with TDN’s Christina Bossinakis and TVG’s live analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion of personal, and sometimes difficult, topics that are often uncomfortable for many to discuss in an open forum .

The latest edition features a trio of successful jockeys, journeyman John Velazquez and retired Ramon Dominguez, both Hall of Famers, plus retired jockey Richie Migliore, who currently serves as an on-air analyst for NYRA and FOX Sports.

Few will dispute the fact that jockeys are the iron warriors of horse racing. Physical danger is a very real part of a cyclist’s daily existence, as is the continual adversity they are forced to endure and adapt (and react to).

“You really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dominguez admitted. “It’s different, maybe for a jockey or magnified compared to other athletes, more than anything because athletes prepare and train for a specific game or maybe a season. Riders have an endless racing season throughout the year. Even if you have a great business, are doing well, and had an amazing day, you need to move on. Because tomorrow you can fall into a slump and things change. That [concern] It’s always in the back of your mind.”

Having faced more adversity than his fair share, Migliore retired from the saddle in 2010, and Dominguez did the same three years later, after also dealing with a career-ending injury. Velazquez, who continues to compete at the highest level at 51, also faced serious injuries at various points in his career, yet found himself among the lucky ones to be back in the saddle, time and time again.

“For every jockey, for every athlete, there is one last ride, there is one last at-bat, there is one last play,” Migliore said. “And if you’re lucky, you get to choose when the last ride is like Chris McCarron, Jerry Bailey and Pat Day. They accomplished amazing things and made the decision that it was time to walk away. The vast majority of cyclists do not have that opportunity. So I tell the young riders that there will be one last ride and hopefully they will get to choose the last one. But that’s why you owe it to yourself to make the most of the time you can ride.”

While the physical stress and adversity riders face are well documented, the emotional difficulties riders face can often be just as prevalent, though not as easily observed by the masses.

“Unlike Ramón, who was in the midst of his prime, I was in the back nine, the twilight of my career,” added Migliore. “Physically, it was not what it was before. Mentally, I could still see a race well, I still had a great judge and sense of the horses, but I was certainly not in what I would call my best. Even though it was undoubtedly towards the end, I was 44 years old when the accident happened, and it still sent me to a deep, dark place. I went into a deep depression. Not originally when I first got out of the hospital, but when I was home. I didn’t feel good, and I didn’t care. I didn’t care about horse racing or horse riding. Three or four months later, when I started to feel better and the reality was ‘you’ll never do that again,’ I really got depressed.”

It is widely understood that the challenges faced by cyclists can be great, yet the unity in racing can be just as strong, a bond reinforced by the need to look after one’s own.

“It’s funny because I always felt like I had support,” Velázquez said. “And you always have the skeptics, though. But I always focus on the people who want to give me the opportunity and I forget about those people who doubted me from the first moment.

And that support extends to the next generation of jockeys, which Velázquez admits is an important factor in keeping the playing field safe and level for the entire jockey colony.

“The more you teach those kids, the safer it will be for you to ride,” he said. “You want to ride with the most knowledgeable rider instead of the kids who are the most reckless. The ones who don’t want to listen or learn are the ones that are scary to travel with. They want to learn the hard way. So, you have to show them the right path.”

to hear the audio-only version of ‘Let’s Talk’, click here. For him video version click here.