Kentucky Derby 2021: Danny Velazquez follows bumpy road to Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Danny Velazquez was happy to be at Churchill Downs Thursday on a damp, humid morning. Quite frankly, Velazquez is happy to be anywhere.

Velazquez, who is making his Kentucky Derby debut Saturday with longshot Brooklyn Strong, was involved in a freak accident at Parx in March. During training hours, a horse unseated its rider and ran right into Velazquez, who was aboard his stable pony. Velazquez was thrown hard off the pony.

Velazquez was taken to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with a torn right labrum, a lacerated liver, a concussion and a bruised chest. He was hospitalized for two days. The horse and Velazquez’s pony were euthanized.

“I’m lucky to be alive – that was bad,” Velazquez said Thursday at Churchill. “The ironic part is I hadn’t been on a horse in like six years. I just started getting on my pony. He’s a great pony. He did nothing wrong, a horse just ran into me. It was terrible. But here we are.”

Velazquez will need surgery on his shoulder at some point to repair the torn labrum. He was in a bit of pain as he held the shank on Brooklyn Strong, who was on the muscle as he moved around grazing outside the barn.

The last few days have been a whirlwind for Velazquez and his New York-bred gelding. On Sunday, Velazquez found out the horse had made it into the Derby field. On Monday morning, the horse worked at Parx and that afternoon he vanned to Churchill, arriving early Tuesday morning. Brooklyn Strong, who won the Grade 2 Remsen in December at Aqueduct, walked Wednesday and jogged Thursday.

“This is surreal,” he said. “I’m here on a free roll. I got nothing to lose. I have my $5,000 horse against these heavy hitters. What else do I want?”

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Brooklyn Strong, a gelding by Wicked Strong who brought just $5,000 at auction, has run just once this year, finishing fifth in the Wood Memorial on April 3.

Velazquez hopes to gain some valuable experience this week at the Derby in hopes of returning one day when the path is a little smoother.

“Listen, I did this with a $5,000 horse,” he said. “Give me the good ones. Give me a half-a-million-dollar horse. I can work magic with them, too. This is all a learning curve. There’s a method to the madness. I’m learning as I go. I feel like I gain experience and get to do this more often I’ll just be more dangerous as I go on because I’m only going to get better at it.”