Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/2/2021

No Kentucky Derby jockey has ever won two Derbies in an eight month span.  Leave it to COVID to change that.  John Velazquez was brilliant on a second tier horse to win the 2021 Kentucky Derby for Medina Spirit.  What's amazing is the similarities to the 2020 Derby ran on Labor Day Weekend.  Both times it was legendary Bob Baffert's only entry.  Both times the horse wasn't the favorite.  Both times, Velazquez led him to victory.  Pretty much wire to wire from the Clubhouse turn on.  The stretch was harrowing four wide as horses had a clean run, but Velazquez and Medina Spirit would not be denied  It was great that fans could see, and Medina Spirit jockey John Velazquez is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/6/2020

 

The first Saturday in May is a fixture of sports for the Kentucky Derby.  Of course, 2020 has been different, so no later than the first Saturday in September all was made right with the world with the 146th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.  What was expected to be a coronation for the most dominant horse of 2020 and Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law, instead a surprise winner emerged.  The lone entry by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert that wasn't scratched, Authentic held off a meager charge by Tiz the Law to win almost wire-to-wire.  Jockey John Velazquez ran nearly a perfect race by getting Authentic up front and fending off all challengers.  Word was that Authentic couldn't handle the full mile-and-a-quarter but it appeared to be no problem.  No Triple Crown winner this year, as Authentic with Velazquez made sure of it.  John Velazquez is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/29/2020

The Kentucky Derby may be delayed, but that doesn't stop the qualification races and a big winner was determined this week.  Tiz the Law, trained by Barclay Tagg, scorched the Gulfstream park 9 furlongs in 1:50, healthy for the upper echelon of the Triple Crown events.  But was jockey Manny Franco that rode the colt to victory.  The 25 year old Puerto Rico native has yet to surge onto the national stage, but may be poised to do so, even with the Kentucky Derby delayed to Labor Day weekend.  Will Tiz the Law be the horse to beat this summer?  We shall see.  But Franco is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/7/2017

The first Saturday in May is a rite of the sports season, as twenty colorful jockeys mount twenty beautiful thoroughbreds and race under the blue Kentucky sky for a shot at glory.  The 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby was as wide open as ever, yet one horse clearly established himself as the class of the field.  It was veteran jockey John Velazquez who ran a near perfect race in sloppy conditions to guide 2017 Kentucky Derby Champion Always Dreaming to a comfortable victory margin.  From an ideal 5 post, Velazquez ensured Always Dreaming saved track down the first and second turn, while staying clean from the mush of a track.  Surging down the back stretch and clear down the home stretch, the Puerto Rican jockey simply asked for more and got it from the Todd Pletcher trained best horse in the field.  It was the 45 year-old Velazquez's second Kentucky Derby win (after leading Animal Kingdom to the rose blanket in 2011).  A master of his craft, his is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!