Jesus Castanon

Born: March 4, 1973 | Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico | Residence: Shepherdsville, Ky.

First Win: She Is the World, Agua Caliente, 1989 | Started Riding: 1989, Agua Caliente Circuit: Tampa Bay Downs, Keeneland, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Churchill Downs, Delaware Park

When it comes to winning races, experience has taught Castanon not to force the issue. “I feel if I get too excited (during a race), I kind of lose the touch. So I just go with the motion and don’t over-think things. I do what I know to do on a horse,” he says. That philosophy resulted in 28 victories here last season. With almost 2,700 career victories, including 17 graded-stakes triumphs, the soft-spoken Castanon is a go-to rider for numerous trainers. He scored career victory No. 2,500 in 2019 at Tampa Bay Downs on Tearless for trainer Derek Ryan. Two months later, Castanon rode Higgins to victory for trainer David Flores, the first career conditioning victory for the former riding great. Castanon and Flores have been friends for close to 40 years. A two-time Oldsmar riding champion, Castanon is best-known for his masterful winning ride on the Dale Romans-trained Shackleford in the 2011 Preakness. The victory came about six months after his father, Jesus Castanon, Sr., succumbed to kidney disease. The elder Castanon, a former trainer, had given the green light to Jesus and his brothers, retired jockeys Antonio and Jose, to ride races. Castanon also rode Shackleford to victories in the Grade I Clark Handicap and the Grade II Churchill Downs Stakes. In 2021, he won the Grade III Houston Ladies Classic Stakes aboard the outstanding mare Letruska. Castanon is married to retired jockey Rolanda Simpson. .