Keeneland will welcome Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza to its regular riding colony for the upcoming 17-day Fall Meet beginning October 3.
Espinoza, best known for guiding American Pharoah to the 2015 Triple Crown and victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, has relocated from his longtime Southern California base.
The transition began this summer when trainer Wesley Ward convinced Espinoza to extend his Saratoga Race Course visit into a working arrangement. Espinoza stayed active by exercising horses during morning training sessions while accepting select race mounts.
Ward, who earned the 1984 Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey and holds 10 Keeneland training titles, emphasized the importance of jockeys working with horses during training hours.
“The advantage is they might find a little ‘this or that’ about the horse,” Ward said. “If they have worked them in the mornings, they have a feel for them. They can have a little plan before the race [in the post parade].”
This approach has been implemented with Mountain Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never), who finished third to Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in last year’s GI Coolmore Turf Mile during his second North American start for European connections.
Espinoza has ridden Mountain Bear in his two most recent outings after becoming familiar with the gelding during training sessions. The horse finished third at Kentucky Downs on August 31.
“We wanted him to get a little feel of the horse,” Ward explained. “He has worked Mountain Bear multiple times and knows him very well. [Mountain Bear] has a few antics but he has been gelded, which has made a huge difference.”
Mountain Bear is scheduled to compete in an 8½-furlong turf allowance race on October 10.
Espinoza’s history at Keeneland includes six victories—four in stakes races—though he hasn’t competed at the Lexington track since 2022.
“I wanted to try something different,” Espinoza said. “I have never really moved out of California. Everybody here is really nice and really into the sport.”
The jockey noted the unique atmosphere surrounding racing in Lexington.
“Lexington is unique. Everyone seems to know each other and they are looking forward to the Keeneland meet. Everybody is talking about the races, and that makes it fun,” he added. “But the backside is the same. Every track you go to, people are the same. It is nice to see many horses training on the track. I am not used to that.”
