Barbara D. Livingston
Jockey John Velazquez has 1,501 wins and seven riding titles at Belmont Park. He will go for his second Belmont Stakes win Saturday, when he rides Animal Kingdom.
ELMONT, N.Y. − It’s not a stretch to suggest what Calvin Borel is to Churchill Downs, John Velazquez is to Belmont Park.
Since the retirement of Pat Day, Borel has become the master of Churchill Downs, especially in the track’s biggest race, the Kentucky Derby, which he has won three of the last five years. While Velazquez hasn’t been quite as successful in the Belmont Stakes − he is 1 for 14 − his overall knowledge, experience, and record of success here is vast.