Horse Racing: Joe Talamo Continues Tradition of Louisiana Jockeys

Louisiana has always had a history of producing great jockeys. Eddie Delahoussaye, from New Iberia, retired in 2002 with wins in 6,384 races. Calvin Borel, from St. Martin Parish, rode Street Sense to victory in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Mark Guidry, from Lafayette, won the G1 Santa Anita Derby aboard Buzzard's Bay in 2005.

Now, racing fans have the pleasure of watching Joe Talamo from the small town of Marrero, just across the border that separates Louisiana and Mississippi.

Unlike his predecessors from the state of Louisiana, Talamo didn't just learn his trade while riding horses at bush tracks nestled among the swamps and magnolias in Cajun country. Talamo learned about horses while working at a horse training center in Waggaman, L.A. While learning the jockey trade, Talamo also learned how to walk horses, muck stalls, and jog horses.

It was at the center where Talamo learned the one aspect of jockeying that separates the truly special riders from those that merely get very good. He learned how to communicate with the horses and a good communicator will bring a horse home first before any planned out strategy.

Misconceptions abound about jockeying. First, many fans, including handicappers, believe that the jockey doesn't matter. The best horse will always win. This is not true. The jockey has to be the best handicapper in the race because, no matter what anyone believes might happen, there are thousands of different things that can occur once the gates open in a horse race. Split decisions are paramount to a jockey's, and therefore the horses', success. The jockey must make these decisions while guiding a one ton animal around other one ton animals while going about 40 miles an hour.

The second misconception about jockeying is that the best jockeys are the most aggressive. Although this can work for many jockeys, Patrick Valenzuela made a career by managing to muscle his horses to the finish line, the advent of artificial surfaces such as Polytrack and cushion track, require jockeys who are more adept at reading pace than surface and understanding how his particular horse is going to react to whatever moves that he makes.

This means that it is literally impossible to win races on artificial surfaces unless you, as the jockey, understand that horses are living, breathing, animals. Nowadays, the truly successful jockey also understands the horse from a trainer's perspective. What does the horse like? How will the horse react if I chirp to her or smack her with the whip? Does the horse like to run up the rail or on the outside of other horses?

Talamo has all ready proven to be quite adept understanding the nuances of individual animals that he rides. The best illustration of this was during his ride on Nashoba's Key in the Grade I Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park on July 7^th.

It was only Nashoba's Key's fifth lifetime race, yet under the steady guidance of Joe Talamo, Nashoba's Key managed to beat two other Grade I winners in Balance and Hystericalady for the second race in a row. In the Vanity, Talamo had to check Nashoba's Key off Hystericalady's heels before hitting the stretch. Then, he had to wait for the rail to open up and shoot Nashoba's Key through the small opening while holding off Balance for the victory.

It was a brilliant ride by a young jockey. It's even more impressive when taking into account the attitude of the horse that Talamo rode. Carla Gaines, Nashoba's Key's trainer, didn't even bother racing the filly as a two-year old or a three-year old. According to Carla Gaines, Nashoba's Key, although appearing to have talent, never had the right mind for racing and was always difficult to train.

Not so once Talamo came aboard. His steady hand and guidance relaxes Nashoba's Key. When she rushes through small openings, she isn't doing it because she's absolutely fearless; she's doing it because Talamo is asking her.

That is the definition of a true horse whisperer and an excellent jockey. Joe Talamo may by-pass all of his predecessors from Louisiana. If he continues communicating with horses the way he's doing now, the only thing that will stop him from becoming one of greats is Joe Talamo.