Desormeaux rides first winner of his comeback

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 6,059th North American career win for Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux occurred in Thursday’s eighth race at Santa Anita aboard the $18,000 claimer Satchel de Ritches. For the 50-year-old Desormeaux, the win was his first since July 26.

“It felt like the Breeders’ Cup,” a visibly relieved Desormeaux said after Thursday’s races.

Desormeaux’s career and life were in turmoil in the second half of 2020.

Days after the late July win, Desormeaux was involved in a dispute in an RV park on Del Mar property in which he used a racial slur in an altercation with a Black cameraman. In early September, Del Mar stewards Grant Baker, Luis Jauregui, and Kim Sawyer suspended Desormeaux for 15 days and denied him access to California racetracks on the grounds of aggressive behavior and disorderly conduct related to the racial slur.

In the fall, Desormeaux attended an in-patient rehabilitation program in Pasadena, Calif., to address issues related to alcoholism. He resumed riding on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, opening day of the current meeting.

Satchel de Ritches was the third mount of his comeback.

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“What a way to end the year, going out with a bang,” he said.

In a brief conversation, Desormeaux spoke candidly of his issues with alcohol, which has disrupted his career.

“I’d like to blame the COVID,” he said. “The blame is pointing back at me.

“My family has been begging me to do the sobriety thing right. We took care of it. My mother doesn’t have to worry about burying her son, in a worst-case scenario. They’re happy, and secondly they’re proud.”

Desormeaux will continue with counseling, and is under the guidance of the Winner’s Foundation, which aids people in California racing with substance-abuse issues.

At the same time, Desormeaux is attempting to rebuild his career. He is booked to ride two of the nine races Sunday, including the fifth race on Equal Measure who is trained by Bob Hess Jr. Desormeaux and Hess have a relationship that is now in its fourth decade. Hess trains Satchel de Ritches.

Desormeaux has won three Eclipse Awards – as the nation’s outstanding apprentice jockey in 1987 and as overall outstanding jockey in 1989 and 1992. Desormeaux won the first of his three Kentucky Derbies on Real Quiet in 1998 and won the 2016 Preakness Stakes on Exaggerator, who was trained by his brother, Keith. Desormeaux has ridden more than 100 winners overseas, primarily in Japan.

Desormeaux has won six Breeders’ Cup races, the most recent of which was the 2017 Sprint at Del Mar aboard Roy H. While Desormeaux won 11 stakes in 2018 and seven in 2019, he had one such win in 2020 – the All-American Stakes at Golden Gate Fields in May.

Even with those past successes, there is an acknowledgement of opportunities lost because of personal issues.

“I can’t count the accolades,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine what it could have been.”

Desormeaux’s résumé is one of the finest among active riders in California, many of whom are half his age. Adding to those statistics, and staying healthy, are goals for 2021.