Susie Raisher Photo

Best of 2023: Javier Castellano

by Lynne Snierson

Just four live race days remain in 2023 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. To celebrate the season, the NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of trainers, owners, jockeys and racing personalities to share their reflections on the memorable year.

Jockey Javier Castellano, who won four straight Eclipse Awards [2013, 2014, 2015, 2016] and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, has enjoyed a career resurgence at age 46 by winning his first Grade 1 Kentucky Derby aboard Mage before teaming up with Arcangelo to secure his initial victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and a record-extending seventh score in the Grade 1 Travers.

He is represented by agent P.J. Campo and has accrued more than $19 million in purse earnings this year to record his best season since 2019 when his mounts banked more than $25 million.

To mark the year as even more magical, he was the 2023 winner of the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award via a nationwide vote of his fellow riders and has been nominated for the 2023 Athlete of the Year Award in his native Venezuela.

Racing runs in the Castellano family - his father, Abel Castellano, Sr., his uncle, and his brother, Abel Castellano, Jr. are retired riders. He and his wife Abby have three children, Kayla, Sienna, and Brady. He is the son-in-law of Terry Meyocks, national director of the Jockeys' Guild.

Q: How meaningful is it to have won your first Kentucky Derby and your first Belmont Stakes at this stage of your illustrious career?

“It has been an incredible year. Thank God. I am very blessed in my career, but especially in this year. To win the big races in the same year is always very special, but to win two of the Triple Crown races, and on two different horses, is really special. There are not too many jockeys who have done that. I am very thankful to all the people who gave me the opportunity, especially my agent, P.J. Campo. He has done a great job finding the best horses on the grounds, so I had the opportunity to compete and win those big races.”

Q: You and P.J. teamed up together a couple of years ago when your business was in a slump and you were at a career crossroads as a result of missing considerable time in the saddle following contracting Covid-19 and then undergoing hip surgery. How has this relationship helped you get back to the top of your profession?

“Things weren’t working out so good for me and then P.J. and I got together. He was the right person at the right time and in the right place. I was at a low point in my career. It had really slowed down in the fall of 2021. This was a tough time. Then I decided to hire him to work with me and since then it’s been really, really lucky.”

Q: How determined were you to fight your way back?

“I was almost ready to give up. But I didn’t quit. I put a lot of sacrifice, dedication, and discipline on myself and was committed to work very hard. With P.J. we found the right horses and then the opportunities little by little opened up. Things really turned around. Don’t get me wrong, things are up and down in any sport, but he gave me the opportunity to come back. I told him I’d like to work together, and hopefully, come back all the way to the top. I told him that I’ve been there and know how to do it and I don’t want to give up, I feel good, I’m healthy, I’m hungry, and I want to extend my career for at least a couple more years. I told him I wanted to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He gave me confidence in myself and we did it. To win the Kentucky Derby [after going 0-for-15 in previous runnings of the race] and then the Belmont [in his 15th try], and then my seventh Travers has been amazing.”

Q: This year you’ve notched four other Grade 1 races, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Bright Future. Does that make the season even more of a dream come true?

“I’ve won a lot of Grade 1 races in my career, and you want to compete on the biggest stage against the best riders and best trainers and be on the best horses. To also win the United Nations [Therapist], the Beverly D [Fev Rover], and the E. P. Taylor [Fev Rover] in the same year is a big highlight in my career. I’m very thankful.”

Q: Your family has always been there throughout the ups and downs. How much does their unwavering support mean?

“I’m so thankful for them. I give a lot of credit to my wife. Abby and my kids always support me. They are always with me every single step of the way. When you slow down, you feel lonely. People start to put you on the side. I get it and I understand that’s part of the game. They only reach out to people who win races. People who don’t win get put on the side. In any sport you have be consistent and you have to deliver. You have to work hard, be dedicated and be disciplined. My family’s support means so much to me.”

Q: Does winning the George Woolf Award add even more to your dream year?

“To win the George Woolf in the beginning of the year in March started everything off on a high note and then things kept going up and up. Winning this award was part of my lucky charm because right after that, things started falling in the right direction with the right horses. I won the Derby on Mage and then found Arcangelo for the Belmont [when Mage skipped the third leg of the Triple Crown] and then stayed on him for the Travers, and then the other Grade 1 races, so things kept going up and up. It was very exciting and very satisfying.”

Q: You won the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic on Ghostzapper. This year Arcangelo was one of the early favorites for the Classic but was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup with an injury. How disappointed were you?

“It’s amazing how in this sport everything can change in the last minute. It’s always something. To go the whole year round being so fortunate, so lucky, with everything going in the right direction and then have this happen was so disappointing. Not being able to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with Arcangelo when I felt I had the best horse and that I would have won the race was really disappointing. He is such a great horse, but I’m grateful that the horse was able to walk away in good order so that he’ll be able to have another career. That is more important than anything else. To see Arcangelo in a good place is the positive about this story. I’m thankful they caught the injury before the race and took care of this horse. I hope he has a big [stallion] career in front of him because he is such a great horse and deserves that.”

Q: You and Jerry Bailey [2000-2003] are the only two riders to win the Eclipse Award in four successive years. How does it feel to be in strong contention for a fifth championship seven years after your last?

“I’ll say it again. It’s been a blessed year and thank God the opportunities came. It didn’t come easy. It took a lot of dedication and sacrifice the whole year round to put me in this spot. Just to be nominated as one of the three best riders in the country would make me extremely happy.”

Q: So, retirement any time soon is not in the picture?

“Absolutely no. I feel great. I couldn’t feel better. I plan to keep working hard. It’s not in mind to retire. Knock wood, I hope everything can keep going good. I’m happy, I’m healthy, and horses do well [under me]. P.J. is doing a great job and my business is going good. As long as I can compete and find the best horses to ride, why not keep going a little longer? It would be amazing to have another year like this one and maybe I can win the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2024.”

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of every day of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.