Sonny Leon won a Kentucky Derby before fellow Venezuelan Javier Castellano
 

Bet you didn't have that on your Bingo card.

At least, so far as Venezuelan athletes go, you're getting Jose Altuve out of our minds! :D

That was the smartest ride I've seen in years.

yes it was, and it was great... this was the most fun i have ever had in racing, and i lost my money on it!

It was a great ride….. but he’s a professional athlete. The difference between these guys is not the gap the media and public make it to be . All of that crap is exaggerated. You just don’t get these mounts if you suck. I really think people don’t get that at all. Once you do break through to the top your agent is selling your name and rep . Plus, like I always say in the game , it’s over 90 % the horse. Rich Strike had to carry him on his back and run faster than every other horse…… bottom line. And that’s why anyone can win a horse race.

As you go up in any physical sport the athletes are a little stronger and have quicker reactions to situations. He'd get trounced at any major track IMO

Or your tee shirt! :lol:

I thought Churchill Downs WAS a major track?

IMO it's a matter of opportunity, timing and good fortune.

I think there are guys riding on smaller circuits that could shine in the big leagues. David Cabrera, Francisco Arrietta, Daniel Centeno, DeShawn Parker, Carol Cedeno, Rafael Hernandez and about a hundred more.

A good example is the exodus of riders from Northern Ca a few years back.

Abel Cedillo, Juan Hernandez, Ricky Gonzalez, Kyle Frey. All rode for many years at Golden Gate.

Came to the South and were suddenly Grade 1 riders.

IMO they were always good enough.

Announcers are like that too IMO.

People say who the greats are. And they are right.

However, if Trevor, Travis, Larry, Pete, Michael, Frank et al. all left. The guys at the smaller tracks would move in and suddenly everyone would say how great they are.

It's the races the top guys call that make for GREAT race calls.

Put Bill Downes, Jimmy McNerney, Matt Dinerman, Chris Griffin, Jim Beyers et al.

And now they are elite.

Opportunity, timing, good fortune.

Yeah, a little bit true. But that’s why you gotta give the horse over 90% of the credit as I stated. But you put any of these guys on “the horse” they have a shot to win. That’s what we just witnessed

I think he just found his ticket out of Ohio. People need to realize that a lot of his mounts have been on low class, inconsistent horses.

I think one underrated thing that Leon did, that comes from experience, is the ground saving and patience in a 20 horse field.

The tendency, not only because you don't want to get blocked, but also because of just pure concern for one's own safety, is to want to stay outside. Wide trips can work in the Derby on favorites- I call it "the Cigar ride"- this was the ride we saw so many times from Jerry Bailey on Cigar where he would just keep the horse on the outside, traveling more ground but always in the clear, and because Cigar was much the best he would just make his move and win the race.

But when you are on a longshot, you need every advantage you can get, and that means saving ground, taking the risk of traffic, and steering your horse through trouble. We saw these rides from Shoemaker on Ferdinand, from Calvin Borel on Street Sense and Mine That Bird, and from Leon on Saturday. The worst thing you can do is park your longshot out in the 7 path where you lose all sorts of ground on the turns and finish up the track. You have to give him as best a shot you can to win the race.