Javier Castellano

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - With a mix of optimism and respect, trainer Gustavo Delgado and his son and assistant, Gustavo Delgado Jr., have gone about their primary task of the summer: preparing Caracaro (Uncle Mo) of the GI Kentucky Derby. The Delgados are based in South Florida at Gulfstream Park West, but brought Caracaro to Saratoga Race Course in July with the goal of earning enough qualifying points to make the 20-horse Derby. Following second-place finishes in the GIII Peter Pan S. July 16 and the Aug. 8 GI Travers...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - This summer, the road to Churchill Downs runs through upstate New York and has brought Caracaro (Uncle Mo) from South Florida for the historic GI Runhappy Travers S. Saturday. Though the Travers is often the late-August goal for the owners and trainers of talented 3-year-olds, the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a serious rewrite of the schedule for elite races and briefly changed its status. Long ago dubbed the "Midsummer Derby," the 2020 Travers at Saratoga Race Course is a stepping stone to the GI Kentucky Derby...

Trainer Simon Callaghan and Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano are the special guests for this week's installment of the Breeders' Cup's Cocktails & Conversation. The broadcast is a recurring virtual happy hour series designed to rally the industry into raising funds for communities that have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19. It airs Thursday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. ET via Breeders' Cup's Twitter,  Facebook and YouTube. The episode will be hosted by Nick Luck and Britney Eurton of NBC Sports and 21 Club mixologist and creator of Breeders' Cup's...

With Saratoga, Del Mar and a number of other tracks effectively eliminating jockeys from coming and going due to fears they will spread the coronavirus, attention now turns to Churchill Downs and the GI Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs President Kevin Flannery and his team are no doubt mulling whether or not they will put similar restrictions in place, effectively allowing only Kentucky-based riders to compete during the five days of racing. It's not exactly an easy call, but their number one priority has to be safety. And that means following...

Already a Grade I winner at ages two, three and four, 'TDN Rising Star' Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) made it four straight seasons at the highest level with a record-setting victory in the GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland Saturday, which she also won last season. Away in good order, the 4-5 chalk was hot on pacesetting Jolie Olimpica (Brz)'s (Drosselmeyer) tail in second with Juliet Foxtrot (GB) (Dansili {GB}) to her inside through upbeat fractions of :23.42 and :46.94. Ranging up to look Jolie Olimpica in the...

Speech (Mr Speaker) became her young sire's first Grade I winner and earned enough points to land her a spot in the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks with a decisive score in the GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland Saturday afternoon. Speedy GII Las Virgenes S. romper Venetian Harbor (Munnings) shot out to the early lead, loping through an opening quarter in :24.04 with Speech stalking from second off the fence. Envoutante (Uncle Mo) slipped up the fence inside of Speech as the half went up in :47.14, but...

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) breezed a half-mile in company in an easy :49.30 over the Belmont main track Saturday morning as she completed her preparations for the July 11 GII Ruffian S. at Big Sandy. Partnered with Javier Castellano, the 5-year-old worked in the company of her multiple stakes-winning stablemate A Bit of Both (Paynter) and was timed in splits of :12.30 and :24.40 before galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:02.10. "Today it was a very...

Edited Release, courtesy Gulfstream Park Calling it "the biggest challenge of my life," popular Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has overcome being diagnosed with the coronavirus. Castellano, 42, spent 14 days in quarantine at the South Florida home of his 64-year-old mother, where Gulfstream's five-time Championship Meet leading rider had been since testing positive upon his arrival from New York to ride over GI Curlin Florida Derby weekend in late March. As part of strict protocols put into place by Gulfstream management, all riders who came in from out...

For Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, the hard part of having the coronavirus has not been the physical effects. Relatively young at 42 years old and in peak physical condition, Castellano said he feels "great" and considers himself to be "very lucky and very fortunate." But that doesn't mean the coronavirus didn't beat him up, just in other ways. Castellano said Tuesday that the mental toll COVID-19 took on him was substantial and the hardest part of his ordeal. "This has been one of toughest challenges I have faced...

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports his agent, John Panagot. Castellano is the first North American-based jockey known to have come down with the illness. Castellano had been riding at Gulfstream, but Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing operations for The Stronach Group, said that racing will continue at the South Florida racetrack. He said that Castellano has not ridden at Gulfstream since Mar. 15 and was tested on Sunday when he returned to Florida from New York. "We put protocols...

A strange four-day period in which the likely second choice in a $3-million race did not have a jockey ended Tuesday with the announcement that Javier Castellano will ride Spun to Run (Hard Spun) in the GI Pegasus Invitational at Gulfstream. Castellano replaces Irad Ortiz, Jr., who made the peculiar decision to take off Spun to Run in order to ride the Bob Baffert-trained Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man). Mucho Gusto was last seen running third in the GIII Oklahoma Derby Sept. 29 and his biggest wins have come at...

4th-Gulfstream, $43,000, Msw, 1-12, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:10.99, ft. MOTIVATED SELLER (f, 3, Into Mischief--Coup {SW, $132,637}, by Empire Maker) survived a breakneck duel and found more in the lane to graduate impressively on debut for Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown Sunday at Gulfstream. Recording eight half-mile breezes at Payson Park, highlighted by a spin from the gate in :49 4/5 (8/55) Dec. 31, the $160,000 Fasig-Tipton October buy took late money to go off as the 12-5 second choice and broke alertly from her rail draw. Hooking up with...