HALLANDALE BEACH - On the cusp of his annual sojourn to Gulfstream Park for its prestigious Championship Meet and approaching a 30th year of riding professionally in the United States, Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has no shortage of sources for inspiration.

    There’s the looming milestone of 6,000 career wins, now less than 100 away; the never-ending search for a promising newly turned 3-year-old and the prestige of competing with the best collection of riders assembled at a winter race meet.

    Then, there’s family. Brady, his only son and the youngest of Castellano’s three children with wife, Abby, is starting to recognize dad’s cool job and how much he has accomplished in the game. And for the first time, the Venezuela native has partnered since early this month with his brother-in-law, Kevin Meyocks, to work as his agent.

    “It’s exciting, because Kevin always tried to help me in the winter in South Florida the last two or three years,” Castellano said. “My son, he’s 13 and getting to the age where he’s starting to pay attention. He’ll say, ‘Daddy, what horses are you riding?’ He wants to see me at the high level, and it motivates me more when your children and your family look up to you and they’re excited when you win races.

    “I still have that fire, that motivation to win races, especially at Gulfstream. It’s the Championship Meet with all the best jockeys. All the top riders in the country end up in South Florida. It’s the best feeling in the world when you’re competing with them. Where better to be in the wintertime than South Florida and Gulfstream Park? All jockeys dream of wanting to compete there at that level,” he added. “I just turned 48 and I’m not ready to retire. The biggest advantage of our sport is as long as you can do it, you can continue. I’m very fortunate to be in great condition. I feel good and I’ve been training good to be ready for the races.”

    Castellano will be on hand Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, for the opening of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, his earliest arrival since being in the midst of five consecutive leading rider titles from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016. Irad Ortiz Jr., who broke Castellano’s single-season record with 140 wins in 2020-2021, surpassed his overall record by leading the jockey standings for a sixth time last winter and will be favored to add a seventh.

    The opening day program has Castellano named in five of eight races for five different trainers including Brad Cox-trained debut winner Amberglen in the $100,000 Wait a While for 2-year-old fillies scheduled at 7 ½ furlongs on the turf.

    “We decided to go the first weekend and start from the beginning,” Castellano said. “The last few years I stayed in New York and then [went] later on, spend Christmas with my family. But the kids are getting older, they are having activities at school and we decided I might as well go early and start getting momentum, start getting business and looking for the right horses.”

    The year-round partnership has seen Castellano off to a strong start with Meyocks, who also has the jockey’s book in New York. Their first weekend together they won the Nov. 8 Hill Prince (G3) for Sackatoga Stable and trainer Barclay Tagg with Tiz Dashing, Castellano’s seventh graded-stakes triumph this year. The following weekend, he won the Key Cents on George Weaver-trained She’s Country and was third in the Notebook aboard Funny Factor.

    Meyocks also represents Emisael Jaramillo at Gulfstream. The opportunity to add Castellano came about when the agent’s other local rider, Cipriano Gil, relocated to Tampa Bay Downs for the winter. In late summer Meyocks picked up the book for Kentucky-based Francisco Arietta, who is returning to make his title defense at Oaklawn Park.

    “Everything has started falling in the right direction, and who better than Kevin. He lives in Florida and he knows a lot of people and he’s a great guy. Not just because he’s my brother-in-law; everybody likes Kevin. He likes joking around with people. He’s got a big sense of humor,” Castellano said. “I know how he works. He has a lot of connections, he knows a lot of people and we’re looking forward to it.”

    Castellano averaged 114 wins during his time atop the Championship Meet standings with a then-record high of 132 in 2013-2014. Except for his first winter of 2004 and 2020-2021, when injuries and the coronavirus pandemic limited him to just 66 starts, Castellano has topped $1 million in purse earnings. Last winter, he had 25 wins and a meet bankroll of $1.35 million.

    Fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey (2000-03) and Castellano (2013-16) are the only jockeys to win the Eclipse Award as champion jockey four consecutive years. A total of 21 riders have won 6,000 or more races; Castellano sits at 5,910 and counting. His career earnings of more than $413 million are second only to another active Hall of Famer, soon-to-be 54-year-old John Velazquez, who also calls the Championship Meet his winter home.

    “I love my job,” Castellano said. “It seems to me every stage in your life is a challenge. When you are in the beginning of your career, you work hard because you’ve got to make your name to get to that high level of competition. You want to be there. Then when you’re at the high level, you have to work double because you want to maintain your place. You have to be demanding and work hard.

    “I’m past the first stage and I’m past the second stage. I won four Eclipse Awards, almost five. I won the Kentucky Derby, two Preakness, the Belmont Stakes, 12 Breeders’ Cup races and seven Travers, which is unbelievable. I’m still competing at the high level and the high competition with the best jockeys in the country” he added. “I feel like it’s not ending. No way. I think I have five years ahead. That’s my goal. I feel great. I’m looking forward to the opportunities. I’m still hungry.”

    Winner of the 2006 and 2017 Preakness (G1), Castellano completed his personal Triple Crown in 2023 with wins in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont (G1) respectively aboard Mage and Arcangelo, two horses he rode during the winter that helped reestablish Castellano after some lean years. Mage was fourth with Castellano in the Fountain of Youth (G2), two starts prior to the Derby, and he was aboard Arcangelo for four straight wins starting with his Gulfstream graduation and continuing with the Peter Pan (G3) and Travers (G1).

    “A couple years ago I can’t believe I won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Those two horses I found in South Florida at Gulfstream Park,” Castellano said. “I rode Mage over there and then Arcangelo, I broke his maiden. I ended up winning two Triple Crown races the same year. It’s amazing.”

    Gulfstream’s series of stakes for 3-year-olds starts with the Mucho Macho Man Jan. 3 and continues with the Holy Bull (G3) Jan. 31 and Fountain of Youth Feb. 28 leading up to the Florida Derby (G1) March 28. The Florida Derby has produced 47 starters that have gone on to win a remarkable 63 Triple Crown races – 26 in the Kentucky Derby, 19 in the Preakness and 18 in the Belmont.

    “I look forward to riding the young horses of the new generation. That’s what keeps you excited and motivated, looking for the nice 3-year-olds in January,” he added. “The Holy Bull, the Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby – that’s more motivation [for] me to continue and have success at the high level."

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