Kent Desormeaux: A Hall of Fame gift from Maurice

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, now a veteran 48-year-old rider, regularly visits the winner’s circle at Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles. But his origins are from tiny Maurice, Louisiana.

There, a large percentage of the population speaks a distinctive dialect of French and Cajun, which originated from about 180 families with names such as Broussard, Romero, Picard, Villien, and, of course, Desormeaux. These Cajun families are decedents of French settlers known as Acadians who were cruelly driven out of Nova Scotia by the British in the middle of the 18th Century.

The heart and soul of Maurice is Cajun food, Cajun music, and Cajun family. Kent’s hometown roots have permeated his entire being. The uplifting Zydeco music comprised of fiddle, the French accordion called the “chanka chank,” and the washboard called the “frottoir” would have everybody’s feet tapping. Kent, to this day, enthusiastically describes some of his favorite Cajun dishes such as smoky jambalaya, fried oysters, rice and gravy, crawfish boil, catfish, plus shrimp and sausage.

Kent’s family had the Cajun love for horses — especially Kent’s dad, Harris. He made a decision that would set the stage for Kent’s road to the Hall of Fame by leasing a farm and converting it into a bush track. Bush tracks in Cajun country were like bingo games in other parts of America. Bush track racing became a huge party, filled with gambling, drinking, eating, and dancing. Cajuns have always known how to have fun!

As a kid, Kent rode various breeds of horses on the bush track circuit. He may have ridden with a saddle, bareback, or even roped on. He was fearless. Kent felt that he had an understanding of what a horse was thinking and soon expressed his desire to become a professional jockey. By being doggedly persistent, his parents ultimately supported his life choice at the tender age of 16.

Small town America is full of young children like Kent who spend much of their time dreaming of a life beyond the confines of their communities. While traveling through these towns, one can often see the dreams and aspirations in their eyes.

For Kent, he was fortunate to be born into a loving family who gave him the nurturing that set the stage for a healthy, hopeful, curious, and confidant child. It was the classical parental foundation of acceptance, faith, work ethic, and unconditional love.

When Kent left Maurice to go to Maryland and eventually California, he was confident in his skills that he honed in Maurice. He was comfortable in the saddle, knew the right position of the body, developed quiet hands, had the ability to calm a horse, and had a clock in his head that developed an innate sense of pace. 

Kent learned that the best way to develop skill was to observe and practice over and over again until it became second nature. If anything, his Maurice roots had given him the ability and time to develop just what he needed on his road to win seven Triple Crown races and to become a Hall of Fame jockey.

In 1989, he dazzled the racing community with his breathtaking riding style culminating in a record that still stands today: 599 wins in a single year. He had the natural ability to involve racing fans in the moment of victory with his riding skills and a personality full of charismatic charm.

Nearing 50 years old, by normal racing standards, Kent would be considered well passed his glory days. However, Kent has been able to get back in the saddle when detractors deemed him finished. His perpetual fortitude led him to winning sprees that put him in the Top 25 in purse earnings from 2014 to 2018.

The journey is not over, with more to be told about the kid from Maurice who rode his way into the Hall of Fame.

John M. Toothman, PhD, has been a racing enthusiast for over half a century. He is an author of racing articles and books, including The Reinsman: The Nick Shuk Story about his childhood hero who was a valiant and courageous jockey in the 1950s.