Velázquez, Dettori, Ouzts have rare meeting at Keeneland

Lexington, Ky.

A combined 116 years of professional riding experience were on display Saturday afternoon at Keeneland, where John Velázquez, Frankie Dettori and Perry Ouzts raced in the $250,000 Giant’s Causeway Stakes.

Even though they would finish out of the money, the first meeting of the three riding mainstays provided a rare, pre-race photo opportunity outside the jockeys room at Keeneland. Photographer John Engelhardt and publicist Jennie Rees pointed out the happenstance to press-box colleagues early Saturday.

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Velázquez, 51, the U.S. Hall of Fame jockey whose career earnings of $464,544,805 are a world record, rode Happy Soul (5-1) to a fourth-place finish in the Giant’s Causeway. He wound up 1 3/4 lengths behind fellow Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr., who was on winning favorite Twilight Gleaming (5-2). This spring Velázquez will try to add to his six victories in Triple Crown races.

Dettori, 52, a 20-time classic winner in Great Britain, finished 11th on Train to Artemus (13-1). A native of Italy who is based most of the year in England, Dettori is finishing what he said would be his final winter and spring campaign, doing so mostly at Santa Anita before riding this month at Keeneland. Late last year he indicated he would retire after the Breeders’ Cup, but he has expressed second thoughts about whether to finish his storied career this year.

Ouzts, 68, whose 7,347 wins rank 10th in world racing history, took Creative Credit (63-1) forward early before fading to last in the field of 12. Based at tracks around Cincinnati, Ouzts has been approaching and breaking longevity records. He has started 52,810 races, second only to Russell Baze’s 53,578.

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