Longtime exercise rider Carmona finds stride as jockey

The Del Mar jockey colony is constantly evolving. It’s an all-inclusive mix of people, nationalities and ages. Some are Hall of Famers, some are future Hall of Famers and others are journeymen. But never, to most people’s recollection, has there ever been a 37-year-old apprentice.

Until now.

Serafin Carmona is the latest addition to the Del Mar jockey colony and he comes in as many new jockeys do, as an apprentice. But most apprentices are in their teens and early 20s. Carmona is 37 years old.

“I’ve been going to Del Mar for quite a few years as an exercise rider,” Carmona said. “For me, it’s one of the best tracks I’ve ever been to.”

Serafin started riding horses when most jockeys are beginning their apprenticeships.

“I finished high school and went one year to college,” Carmona said. “One day my uncle, (former jockey) Omar Berrio, calls me and asks ‘What are you doing and how much do you weigh?’ He asked me if I wanted to go to the racetrack and learn how to ride. The next day I’m at the track.”

That was in 2006. Serafin went to the jockey school in Panama in 2007 and was in the same class as Luis Saez, Ricardo Santana and Abel Lezcano. In 2010 he arrived in the U.S. and landed a job in California.

“I worked 10 months at a farm riding babies in Temecula because I didn’t think I was ready for the track,” Carmona said. “Then one day I just showed up at Santa Anita. I worked for different people. David Hofmans was my first solid job. Then I worked for Simon Callaghan for four years.”

Carmona was galloping horses and content in his life. Before he knew it, 10 years had passed him by.

“I had reached a point I was settled in my life,” Carmona said. “I had a kid. I didn’t need anything. I always had it in my heart (to be a jockey) but you think that maybe they won’t give me a chance.”

He was with trainer Kristin Mulhall when he decided it was time to start pursuing his dream. This was last year.

“I told her, ‘I’m not going to Del Mar this year,’ ” Carmona said. “I didn’t want to tell people I was going to ride because I always had it inside me that I was old. So I went to Canterbury where nobody knew about me. I rode a few races and then went to Delta Downs (in Louisiana), but they didn’t give me a shot.”

So he packed up his tack and went to New Orleans.

“I went to Fair Grounds with zero wins,” Carmona said. “You know how hard it is to go there as a bug boy? It’s like, ‘Who is this guy?’ But they helped me a lot. I was riding every day, two or three races. They gave me shots, and that’s where I won my first race.”

It was on a $15,000 claimer named Keys Included on Jan. 28. He rode 83 races in 2023 without a winner. He’s ridden more than 500 in 2024 and had 74 winners heading into Sunday. He’s had 29 starts at Del Mar this fall with three scores.

“When I came here (to Del Mar), it was my agent’s idea,” Carmona said. “We took it a step at a time. We went to Santa Anita and won three races and we decided to try Del Mar. We came to visit and people were saying ‘You’ve been winning.’ I was surprised they had been watching. It was a shock really.”

Carmona plans to finish the meet at Del Mar and then return to Fair Grounds for its winter meet.

“I always try to keep my feet on the ground,” Carmona said. “I’m a shy guy. I don’t like flash. But it was a good feeling to get all the support after working here for so many years.”