Jockey Kent Desormeaux eyes return to riding next month

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, whose career has sputtered in recent years, is in an in-patient rehabilitation program to address his long-standing alcohol-abuse issues, and will seek to return to action when Santa Anita begins Dec. 26, according to his agent, J.R. Pegram.

Desormeaux, 50, has not ridden since July 27. Del Mar barred him from the grounds following an incident July 28 in an adjacent recreational-vehicle lot where Desormeaux, according to a complaint filed by the California Horse Racing Board, got into a fight with a TVG cameraman while intoxicated after repeatedly using a racial pejorative in regard to the cameraman, who is Black.

On Sept. 7, Del Mar’s stewards suspended Desormeaux for 15 days for “disorderly conduct – racial slurs, aggressive behavior.” That suspension has been completed. But that ruling also ordered Desormeaux to be evaluated by the Winner’s Foundation, a Southern California-based organization that works with racetrack personnel who have substance-abuse issues, “and abide by the recommendations of that organization.”

Pegram said Desormeaux on Oct. 1 checked himself into the well-regarded Impact House in Pasadena, Calif., which among its services offers a residential program. Desormeaux is scheduled to get out in mid-December, Pegram said.

“He’ll then go into a sober-living program for 60 days, and be an outpatient for six months, which will allow him to work during the day and attend classes at night,” Pegram said.

Desormeaux will have to be approved to return by the Winner’s Foundation.

“Everything is going good for him,” said Pegram, who said he has been speaking with Desormeaux a couple times a week recently, for five minutes at a time.

Desormeaux has had a brilliant career, highlighted by three victories in the Kentucky Derby and induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2004. He also has won the Preakness three times, and the Belmont once. He has six wins in Breeders’ Cup races. Desormeaux owns three Eclipse Awards, twice as a veteran, and as an apprentice back in 1987.

Desormeaux has won 6,058 races, but his production has deteriorated in recent years. He has just 28 victories this year, during which he bounced between Louisiana, Northern California, and Southern California before the incident at Del Mar. He won just 36 races last year. His purse earnings for this year are the lowest since his initial year of riding in 1986.

He has had repeated incidents involving alcohol, including failing Breathalyzer tests at Belmont Park, Del Mar, Santa Anita, and Woodbine. He has been in rehab programs previously, but none as extensive as the current program.