Page 181 - February 2021

THE BACKSIDE
also has finished in the top 20 in wins in each of the past two campaigns.
What’s the reason for all his success in recent years?
“My family,” he said. “Having my kids pushed me to work harder. I want the best for them. I want to ride the best. I want to be the best. I want to ride quality over quantity [and] I just worked hard.
“I feel if anyone works hard you can accomplish a lot.”
Family means everything to Delgado. He’s raced horses for his father, Pascual Delgado, and brother, Alonzo Delgado, throughout his career.
Let’s learn more about Delgado and some of the highlights in his career in the latest installment of our Backside series.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU
BREAKING INTO THE SPORT AS A
NEW PROFESSIONAL JOCKEY?
“At first I was kind of worried. I didn’t know anybody. But I just went out there and I worked. I would ask people, ‘Hey, do you need help?’ That’s how I started growing my business—going around barns and asking if they needed help. My agent Bobby Knight helped me out a lot. He helped me get in the bigger barns and pointed me in the right direction and everything started going well.”
Tempted Seis and Mario after winning the 2019 Speedhorse Futurity-G3.
Mario with his wife Alexxa, daughter Layla and son Adrian.
YOU MENTIONED YOUR FATHER AND YOUR BROTHER. DID YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS OR PEOPLE WHO HELPED YOU OUT IN THOSE EARLY YEARS? “When I started riding, Augustin Silva, he’s another jockey, I lived with him for about a year. He would give me a lot of pointers. The year I lived with him I got my first leading rider title, at Will Rogers
Downs. He would tell me, ‘It’s hard to make everyone happy. Just do your job.’ He gave me a lot of riding tips
[like] don’t get too over excited. He would give me tips of how to carry myself around the track and how to try to become a better person
around the track and just a better person overall.”
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE RACING
DURING THE PANDEMIC?
“You know what? In 2020, I think it has
been one of my best years so far out of
my racing career. The pandemic
kind of held some of us back a little bit, but
thank God we were blessed with a few good stakes wins in 2020. I think the racing industry did a good job for a lot of us riders.”
WHAT’S THE BEST HORSE, OR YOUR FAVORITE HORSE, THAT YOU’VE RIDDEN, AND WHY?
“Jess My Hocks [winner of the 2020 AQHA Derby Challenge Championship-G3] and before him, JC Wild Rose. She was a filly, real feisty about everything, and had a bad attitude. Well, I got on her and we clicked, and she’d run.”
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR 2021?
“I want to be Champion Jockey. I want to win everything. I want to win every Grade 1 I can. The All American, it has been my dream to win it. If we can win the All American this year and be Champion Jockey, that would be more than enough.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW JOCKEYS, WHO ARE STARTING OUT THEIR CAREERS?
“The key thing is, I would tell them [to] work hard and stay humble. Keep your feet on the ground and don’t forget where you come from, don’t forget who helped you. Don’t think you’re better than anybody and work hard. Help as many people as you can, and it’ll pay off one day.”
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