LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mike Smith was 19 years old when he rode his first Kentucky Derby, a sixth-place finish aboard Pine Circle in 1984. Fourteen of the jockeys Smith will be riding against in Saturday’s 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs weren’t born yet. “I was so nervous, I don’t think I ever left the bathroom,” Smith recalled. “I kept going to the bathroom to pee and nothing would come out. Once I got on the horse, he actually ran really well. I rode a really good race and ran well.” Earlier that day, Smith was interviewed by famed broadcaster Howard Cosell and had a fortuitous meeting with him after the races. “After the Derby was over, I was standing in line trying to get a cab and I saw him and a group of people walking by and they were going to get in a car,” Smith said. “I don’t know if I hollered at him or he hollered at me but he said, ‘You need a ride? Come with us.’ And I got to ride in the backseat of a limo with Howard Cosell back to the airport. All he wanted to talk about was Angel Cordero and Muhammad Ali.” John Velazquez was 25 when he rode his first Kentucky Derby, a last-place finish aboard Built for Pleasure in 1996. Velazquez, following the trainer’s instructions to stay well off the rail, drew the ire of some of his fellow riders. “Great experience but when I came back, I got yelled at by five jockeys,” Velazquez recalled. “The first time by the wire I stayed in the six or seven path and when we got to the turn everybody squeezed me in. Shane Sellers [on Skip Away] was mad, ‘What were you doing?’ Then somebody else said, ‘Why are you staying so far out?’ I said I was just following instructions. “It was a great experience to be a part of it and see everything and get all those nerves out and being in a race like that,” Velazquez said. All these years later, and long ago inducted into the Hall of Fame, Smith, 59, and Velazquez, 53, are still going strong. Velazquez has won 6,694 races and is the sport’s all-time leader in purse money won with $495,697,320. Smith has won 5,779 races and is third all-time in purse money won with $355,128,275. In the 1990s, they competed against each other daily on the New York Racing Association circuit. Smith was the leading rider from 1991-93. Velazquez was the leading rider from 2001-04. Smith, following an injury suffered at Saratoga in 1999, had moved his tack to Southern California. Smith and Velazquez became good friends. When Cordero, Velazquez’s agent, told Velazquez that he should choose a rider to try and learn from, he chose Smith. “He was doing really good,” Velazquez said. “Angel said keep watching and learn from him and ask a lot of questions.” Smith introduced Velazquez to Leona O’Brien, who would become Velazquez’s wife. For doing so, the couple named their first son Michael. Saturday, Smith will be riding in his record-extending 29th Kentucky Derby when he climbs aboard Rodriguez for Bob Baffert. Velazquez will be riding in his 27th Derby, breaking a tie for second with Bill Shoemaker, when he sits atop Grande for trainer Todd Pletcher. Smith has won the race twice, with Giacomo in 2005, and Justify, the favorite in 2018 who would go on to become the sport’s 13th Triple Crown winner. While holding the record for most Derby mounts is a source of pride for Smith, “as a competitive athlete, it’s not a very good percentage,” he said. “I got to bump that percentage up a bit.” Smith noted that he got off horses such as Thunder Gulch and Authentic, horses who won the Derby for other riders. Smith has finished second in the Derby four times. His most disappointing losses cam aboard Holy Bull, 12th in 1994, and Unbridled’s Song, fifth in 1996. Both horses were favored. “Holy Bull I thought was a standout,” Smith said. “That same bunch never beat him before, never beat him again. For some odd reason, on that day he just didn’t show up. . . . I thought all he’s got to do is break and it’s over, he was that good I believed.” Unbridled’s Song was battling a quarter crack leading up to the Derby. “It was a mess and he still ran huge,” Smith recalled. “He just gets beat a length or two. If that quarter crack didn’t happen and abscess like it did, he would have won as well.” :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Velazquez won his first Derby in 2011 aboard Animal Kingdom, a mount he picked up when his mount, morning-line favorite Uncle Mo, had to scratch two days before the race and Robby Albarado, the scheduled rider of Animal Kingdom, had gotten injured. Velazquez won two more Derbies, in 2017 aboard Always Dreaming for Pletcher and the 2020 running with Authentic, for Baffert. Velazquez guided Medina Spirit to victory in 2021, only to lose that win when Medina Spirit was disqualified due to a medication violation. Despite Medina Spirit’s relatively long odds (12-1) for a Baffert horse, Velazquez liked his chances if he could make the early lead. “I said if we get on the lead or close to the lead, he’s going to be really tough to beat,” Velazquez remembers telling Baffert. “We got to the wire first time, I slowed him down and he was there the whole way. It’s sad that happened to him because he was a good horse.” Last year, Velazquez rode Fierceness, the favorite, who didn’t fire and finished 15th. Fierceness bounced back to win the Travers and Jim Dandy and was second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Velazquez rode Grande to a pair of victories at Gulfstream Park but was riding in Dubai when Grande ran in the Wood Memorial, finishing second under Dylan Davis to Smith and Rodriguez. “He’s lightly raced, doesn’t have a lot of experience,” Velazquez said. “It seems like there’s good speed in the race. If we can follow the first five or six horses that’d be good.” Smith was called out of the bullpen by Baffert to ride Rodriguez in the Wood Memorial. The son of Authentic had shown talent but was a bit too nervous to let it come through. In the Wood, he shed his anxiety and led throughout to win by 3 1/2 lengths. “Not only did he win the Wood, but he won it impressively,” Smith said. “I loved the way he galloped out. I loved his energy coming back, you felt like he’s starting to figure it out. Maybe he’s just a little bit of a late bloomer. His father was a bit like that. Imagine if he takes a step forward? If he can do that, he’s not without a really big chance.” Should Smith win the Derby, he would become the oldest jockey to do so, eclipsing Shoemaker, who was 54 when he won it in 1986 on Ferdinand. Smith currently is second on the list as he was 52 when Justify won. Should Velazquez win, he’d become the second oldest as well as tying Shoemaker for the third most Derby wins with four. Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack each won five. While Smith rides a lot fewer horses than in the past, he keeps himself in outstanding shape, working out several hours a day and running several miles. Baffert said his son Bode went to work out with Smith one time. “He told me [Smith] is the fittest human being he’s ever worked out with,” Baffert said. “Bode’s stout and he said Mike can outlift him.” Velazquez acknowledges he can’t follow the same workout routine as Smith and keeps himself in shape in part by getting on horses in the morning. :: Get DRF Kentucky Oaks & Derby Betting Strategies by Marcus Hersh and David Aragona. Full analysis and wager recommendations! “I do stretch out, I do walk, I do bike, but I don’t work out the way Mike does,” Velazquez said. Both Smith and Velazquez said their love of the profession – especially the quest of getting to the big races like the Kentucky Derby – is what motivates them to keep riding. “If you don’t feel like that you better get out. That keeps me coming back,” Velazquez said. “I talk to Mike about it and he says the same thing, this is what gets you excited. “We’re healthy, getting the opportunities. It’s funny, I stayed around this long because I see Mikey doing the same thing, when he was in his mid-50s, he’s winning all these races. I said, man, maybe I should stick around a little longer.” Said Smith: “I still truly really enjoy doing what I’m doing. Of course, I’m not riding as many. I could go out there and hit the barns every morning and stir up some more business but you want a little quality over quantity. I’m patient. I’m willing to wait as long as I keep myself in great shape, and I’m doing that.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.