Place in History Is Riding on It

He spent his boyhood on a farm outside Mexico City doing man’s work with a child’s hands, and never thought anything of it because, as one of 12 children, that’s what you did. The animals were fed by sunrise, and by 8 p.m. all the children were asleep, or at least they should have been, even if they were cold or hungry, which many times they were.

He was nurtured by these humble surroundings and a close-knit family, but the ranch that had been in his family for generations couldn’t hold on to the restless boy. He had heard stories about people making a name for themselves in the city, and wanted a story of his own.

A decade after he started racing horses--first on a whim, and then, as a way to make a living--Victor Espinoza, 30, will get that chance Saturday when he rides War Emblem in the Belmont Stakes for a shot at the first Triple Crown sweep in 24 years.

Until then, Espinoza will not allow himself to stray from the highly-disciplined lifestyle that he learned as a child, and used to become one of Southern California’s top jockeys.

He still rises at sunrise--to train at the gym he owns in Pasadena--before driving to the track to work out horses. Even after riding War Emblem to victory in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Espinoza has maintained a full racing schedule at Hollywood Park. The 5-foot-2 jockey pauses just long enough to eat his one meal of the day--he must keep his weight below 110 pounds--and falls into bed exhausted each night by 9.

“It’s a long day, and the schedule lasts all year,” Espinoza said. “It wears you down, but you get used to it.”

The Triple Crown is a uniquely difficult challenge, with horses expected to run at three different distances, on three different tracks, within a span of six weeks. The last jockey to win the Triple Crown was Steve Cauthen, who guided Affirmed in 1978. Since then, only seven colts have been in position to follow, most recently Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and Charismatic in 1999.

Jockeys who have been in Espinoza’s situation say the expectations can be enormous, and the devastation can be equally overpowering if race day does not go as planned.

“For weeks I had this awful feeling, like my world had ended,” said Kent Desormeaux, whose Triple Crown bid with Real Quiet came up short by a nose against Victory Gallop. “It takes a while to get over it.”

In that sense, Espinoza said, he feels relieved that he remains relatively unknown on the national racing scene.

“I try not to think about [the pressure],” he said. “I try to keep busy so I don’t have time to think.”

In some circles, he is considered more lucky than talented, the thinking being that any competitive jockey could succeed with a horse like War Emblem. And should War Emblem win, his controversial owner, Prince Ahmed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and high-profile trainer Bob Baffert will likely receive much of the attention.

None of that bothers Espinoza, who prefers to relinquish the limelight. He is the first to say that War Emblem is a rare talent indeed, but he also defends his part in their success, noting that he won the Derby and the Preakness with different strategies--taking the lead in the Derby and staying just off the pace in the Preakness.

“I tricked them,” he said of his competition in those two races. “I had a plan.”

Espinoza first began making big plans as a 14-year-old who thought there was no future in farming, certainly not a financially stable one. He followed his friends to Mexico City where he managed to get a job driving a bus. After six months, his mother convinced the underage, underpaid and overworked bus driver to come home.

Shortly after his return, a wealthy businessman hired Espinoza to look after his horses and eventually brought him to Hippodromo de las Americas, the biggest race track in Mexico. Espinoza had been there once before, as a spectator who quickly lost his money and interest.

But when a trainer took an interest in turning him into a jockey, Espinoza paid attention.

“Once I decided that’s what I was going to do with my life, I put all my focus and energy into it,” Espinoza said. “One day I woke up and said, ‘This is what’s going to help me succeed in life.’”

In 1992, at 20, he won with his first mount. Although he continued to do well, he grew restless. Other jockeys shook their heads when he told them about his plans to immigrate to Northern California in 1993. “You don’t know the language or have any contacts,” they warned him, but Espinoza felt he had nothing to lose.

He didn’t expect that he’d have to hang around the stables every morning for three months before someone gave him a break. But a break was all that Espinoza needed.

“The horses would run for him, some guys just have that gift, and Victor had it,” said Junior Coffey, a former NFL player and long-time Bay Area trainer, who was one of the first to put him to work as an apprentice jockey.

Espinoza rode at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields, and in 1995 shared top jockey honors with Hall of Fame rider Russell Baze.

He stood out in other ways too. Because he kept to himself, he had few friends. His aggressive racing style also set him apart.

“I felt so alone,” he recalled. “I didn’t know what they [other jockeys] were saying ... you know, typical locker room stuff, but you feel frustrated and it didn’t help I didn’t know anybody.”

There was little forgiveness for mistakes, and there were many, resulting in repeated suspensions by race stewards for reckless riding.

“He was talented, but he had a lot to learn,” Baze said.

After a long day of training, Espinoza found time to take English classes at night before settling into his tiny room above the barn. Many nights, the rambunctious thoroughbreds would keep him awake, and he’d have to yell to quiet them down.

In 1996, he had the opportunity to go to Kentucky to watch the Derby. Although Espinoza was slowly improving as a jockey, he said he never envisioned himself there.

“I wanted to be good enough to be one of those jockeys, but I never thought I’d have a chance to race [in the Derby],” he recalled.

After an agent brought him to Southern California, Espinoza began exercising Baffert’s horses in 1996. Espinoza quickly rose through the Southern California ranks and soon was riding many of Baffert’s best horses.

His relationship with Baffert is typical of the roller-coaster ride the profession demands.

Last year, Baffert gave him his first opportunity to ride in the Kentucky Derby. But after Espinoza finished third on Congaree, Baffert replaced him in the Preakness where Congaree ran third while Espinoza rode A P Valentine to a second-place finish for trainer Nick Zito. Espinoza went on to ride A P Valentine to a second-place finish in the Belmont, in which Congaree did not run.

“It’s part of the business, you don’t let it get to you,” Espinoza said of Baffert’s decision.

Espinoza’s mounts won $3.7 million in 1999. In 2000, his mounts earned $13.2 million, ranking him seventh nationally. In that year, he won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff aboard Spain, a 55-1 longshot owned by Salman and trained by D. Wayne Lukas. Last year, his mounts earned $10,394,906--11th best in the nation.

So far this year, his mounts have earned $6,728,425, second in the nation. The $1-million Belmont carries a $5-million bonus for the owner of the Triple Crown winner. He could earn 10% of the purse, plus a $500,000 cut of the bonus.

There are few signs of Espinoza’s wealth--although he does own a yellow Lamborghini. He rarely drives it, however, usually traveling from his home in Monrovia in a sporty pick-up truck large enough for his two Great Danes.

He compares riding War Emblem to driving his exotic car, except the latter doesn’t have a vicious temper.

The horse routinely kicks and bites, and needs two grooms to handle him. Bobby Springer, War Emblem’s former trainer, called him “just plain ornery.” Baffert said: “He’s hateful. I don’t turn my back on him.”

Although War Emblem won the Illinois Derby earlier this year, he was not regarded by Springer as a candidate for the Kentucky Derby. Three weeks before the race, he was sold to Prince bin Salman, who struggled to find someone willing to ride the horse. Espinoza was called in only after two other jockeys refused the invitation.

That’s why Espinoza first met War Emblem only two hours before the Kentucky Derby, a “blind date”--as Baffert has called it--that could have turned into disaster.

That same morning, the glossy black colt who looked friendly and tempting enough to pet, bit a security guard who tried to do just that.

Espinoza recalled approaching the horse cautiously, and looking into a pair of menacing eyes. But the man who had been around horses all his life, living with them, caring for them, did not hesitate.

As others looked on uneasily, Espinoza reached up to the horse’s mane.

War Emblem didn’t flinch, settling comfortably at the jockey’s touch.

And Espinoza knew this was his horse to ride.

“This horse was special, he just had this look in his eyes,” he said.

Now, two longshots have a chance to carry each other into sports history.

“It just seemed like it was meant to be,” Espinoza said.

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*--* Triple Crown Jockeys Year Horse Jockey Bob Mieszerski’s Comment 1919 Sir Barton John Loftus Made Hall of Fame in 1959 1930 Gallant Fox Earl Sande Won four more Belmonts 1935 Omaha William Willie Saunders “Smokey” faded from view 1937 War Admiral Charles Kurtsinger Also won Derby in 1931 1941 Whirlaway Eddie Arcaro Viewed by some as best ever 1943 Count Fleet John Longden Nearly won Crown as trainer 1946 Assault Warren Mehrtens Went on to be a steward 1948 Citation Eddie Arcaro Only rider to win it twice 1973 Secretariat Ron Turcotte Later paralyzed in accident 1977 Seattle Slew Jean Cruguet Lost mount later on ‘Slew 1978 Affirmed Steve Cauthen Found future success overseas

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