18-year-old rider Diego Herrera has come long way in short time
California jockey Diego Herrera turned 18 on Wednesday and the upstart rider is well aware of what he might be doing on his birthday as soon as 2023.
Could there be a better birthday present than a Kentucky Derby mount, or even a win?
“That would be fun to ride,” Herrera said on Friday. “Hopefully I can find a good 2-year-old that can take me to the first Saturday in May.”
Considering how far Herrera has progressed in the last 15 months, a Kentucky Derby mount is a possibility in coming seasons. For now, Herrera’s focus is on the difficult transition from an apprentice jockey to a journeyman.
:: Win big at Santa Anita: Get DRF Past Performances, Picks, Clocker Reports and Betting Strategies.
Herrera’s apprentice term ended in late April, and he since has recorded one win in 10 mounts. For the season, Herrera ranks fifth in the jockey standings at Santa Anita with 30 wins, well behind leader Flavien Prat, who won 72 races before leaving for Kentucky earlier this spring. Herrera is 38 wins behind Juan Hernandez, who will overtake Prat in coming racing days. This is Herrera’s first full winter-spring meeting at Santa Anita.
Staying in the first five in coming weeks before the end of the meeting on June 19 is a priority for Herrera.
“People ask me how my business is,” he said. “They tell me it’s going to get rough. I’m aware of it. I’m excited.
“It’s a different feel. People look at you a little different.”
Herrera has plenty of chances this week to prove he can make the immediate transition to journeyman. He is booked to ride eight races on Friday, six on Saturday and four on Sunday.
A win on Mad Catter in a $16,000 claimer last Sunday was his first at Santa Anita as a journeyman and his 132nd on all breeds since his career began in early 2021.
“That definitely helped,” he said. “It keeps you confidence level up.”
Through the final months of 2021 and earlier this year, Herrera was active on weekends at both Santa Anita during the day and at the mixed meeting of Quarter Horses and lower-level Thoroughbreds at Los Alamitos during the evenings.
Herrera plans to reduce his activity at Los Alamitos now that his apprenticeship has ended. He has three Quarter Horse mounts on Saturday and one on Sunday, all in maiden special weight races or minor stakes. In January, Herrera won the $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap for Quarter Horse fillies and mares on Kiss Thru Fire.
The days of riding the sprints for lower-level Thoroughbreds at Los Alamitos are over.
“If there are stakes races, I’ll go,” he said. “Just regular races, as of now, it’s done.
“I think I’ll see what happens with a good 2-year-old or 3-year-old. As of now, I’m playing it by ear.”
This week, Herrera rides for a variety of trainers, notably five mounts for Michael McCarthy, who won the 2021 Preakness Stakes. Herrera knows that success now can translate to a prominent position later this year at the prestigious Del Mar summer meeting.
“These trainers have been good to me and helping me out,” he said. “It’s time to show I can ride as a journeyman. The pressure is on me to prove that I can do it.”