Cornelio Velásquez

Cornelio Velásquez was born on 28 September 1968 in Panama, was introduced to racing at fifteen by the trainer Carlos Salazar Guardia and enrolled in the national jockey school. He was Panama's top apprentice in his first year and its leading rider in 1994 and 1995.

In 1996 he moved to the United States to ride at Belmont Park and over the following decade won riding titles at tracks in Kentucky and Florida. His breakthrough came in 2003 with Cajun Beat in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, the first of two Breeders' Cup wins, and in 2005 he finished second in the Kentucky Derby on Closing Argument.

Sources

Facts in this profile are drawn from the Wikipedia article(s) linked below, consulted on 21 September 2026; the text is original. Wikipedia (English) · Wikipedia (Spanish)

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Profiles are compiled from public sources for general information. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by the people described. Corrections are welcome at carol@velasquez.info.