Kent J. Desormeaux

Louisiana native Kent Desormeaux grew up riding horses at his father’s farm and competing at local bush tracks. In 1986, at age 16, Desormeaux won his first official thoroughbred race. The following year, after moving to Maryland, he led all North American jockeys in wins and earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice.

Inducted

2004

Born

Feb, 27, 1970, Maurice, Louisiana

Career

1986-

Wins

6,167

Earnings

$294,139,756

Racing Record

18.78

Win %

Biography

Louisiana native Kent Desormeaux grew up riding horses at his father’s farm and competing at local bush tracks. In 1986, at age 16, Desormeaux won his first official thoroughbred race. The following year, after moving to Maryland, he led all North American jockeys in wins and earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice.

Desormeaux went on to win the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1989 and 1992. The only other riders to receive Eclipse Awards as both an apprentice and journeyman are Hall of Famers Chris McCarron and Steve Cauthen, and Julien Leparoux.

Desormeaux led the nation in wins each year from 1987 through 1989. In 1989, he rode 598 winners, a record that still stands. After relocating to Southern California, Desormeaux was the national leader in earnings in 1992. In 1995, at age 25, he became the youngest jockey to win 3,000 races. Two years later, he became the youngest jockey to reach $100 million in purses.

His major victories include three wins in the Kentucky Derby, two in the Preakness, and one in the Belmont Stakes. He has also won six Breeders’ Cup races. Desormeaux, who was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1993, won his 6,000th career race in January 2019 aboard X S Gold at Santa Anita.

Through 2023, Desormeaux has won 6,167 races (No. 19 all time) with purse earnings of $294,139,756 (No. 8 all time).

Achievements

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey — 1989, 1992
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey — 1987

North America's leading rider in wins — 1987, 1988, 1989
North America's leading rider in earnings — 1992

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the 1998 Kentucky Derby — Real Quiet
Won the 2000 Kentucky Derby — Fusaichi Pegusus
Won the 2008 Kentucky Derby — Big Brown
Won the 1998 Preakness Stakes — Real Quiet
Won the 2008 Preakness Stakes — Big Brown
Won the 2016 Preakness Stakes — Exaggerator
Won the 2009 Belmont Stakes — Summer Bird

Breeders' Cup Highlights

Won the 1993 Turf — Kotashaan
Won the 1995 Sprint — Desert Stormer
Won the 2007 Dirt Mile — Corinthian
Won the 2010 Ladies' Classic — Unrivaled Belle
Won the 2014 Juvenile — Texas Red
Won the 2017 Sprint — Roy H