How Jockey Victor Espinoza Went From 14 Year-Old Bus Driver To First Latino To Win Triple Crown
*I don’t tire of this story. He had a fake ID and used it to get a job driving a bus – he was 14 years old. VL
By Remezcla Estaff, Remezcla
Can you imagine riding on a 44mph cloud? This Goku-style fantasy became reality for a very lucky Mexican: the “luckiest Mexican on earth.”
This year, jockey Victor Espinoza rose to glory by winning the Triple Crown title of Thoroughbred horse racing. It was the first Triple Crown victory – which entails winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont the same year with the same horse – since 1978. The Mexican rider is also the first jockey to do win the Triple Crown since 1995, which was the first and only time a jockey won using different horses.
[pullquote]… he donated all of his $800,000 prize money to a cancer research center in California.[/pullquote]According to Espinoza, riding American Pharoah was like riding a cloud. But in a sport where the credit is mostly given to the horse, Espinoza has been making quite a lot of noise –and gaining fans – lately. And how could he not? He’s an easy man to root for, from his underdog story to the reports that he donated all of his $800,000 prize money to a cancer research center in California.
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[Photo by Diana Robinson/Flickr]
