Victor Martinez, third from left, helps lead his King Guillermo in to the Tampa Bay Derby winner's circle, Samy Camacho on board

Growing up in Venezuela, Samy Camacho played baseball alongside most of the other young boys.

“I'm so small, you know, so I can't keep doing that,” said Camacho, 30, now a professional jockey based at Tampa Bay Downs.

Camacho still has connections to baseball through Venezuela. His best friend, Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco, is a pitcher for Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians.

Last Wednesday he made another connection: Camacho met five-time American League All-Star player Victor Martinez, though it wasn't on the baseball field.

Martinez owns several racehorses, and Camacho was booked to ride his stable star King Guillermo in Saturday's Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby. The 3-year-old colt, a son of Uncle Mo, is named for Martinez' late father Guillermo Martinez, who died when Victor was just six years old. Still, the colt hadn't raced since November, so emotions were riding high the week leading up to the race.

“I told him, 'I've got a lot of confidence and I believe a lot in your horse,'” Camacho relayed. “He watched me like, 'Oh, I don't know.' He loves the horse, but he was not sure that he'd win the [Tampa Bay] Derby. I tried the last two years to win the Derby, and I don't have the best luck, but I said, 'I know with your horse I have the best chance to win the race.'

“Victor told me, 'I like your confidence, so you try your best.' I promised him, 'I do my best all the time. I know this year is different.'”



Camacho felt he had good reason to be confident. When King Guillermo broke his maiden in a route race on the turf, the colt set fractions of :23.87 and :47.66 before drawing off to win by 6 ¼ lengths.

In the listed Pulpit Stakes over a mile on the grass, King Guillermo was also close to the lead through quicker fractions of :22.74 and :45.62. He made the front after six furlongs in 1:09.27 but was headed at the eighth pole and lost by 3 ½ lengths.

Camacho believed if he could rate King Guillermo to fractions of 23 and 47 seconds, and if the colt took to the dirt, he could win the Tampa Bay Derby. The tote board didn't reflect Camacho's confidence; King Guillermo went off at 49-1.

After breaking sharp, Camacho kept King Guillermo close to the leaders as they ticked off steady fractions of :23.89 and :48.16. The jockey's confidence grew as King Guillermo ranged up three-wide around the far turn, and the colt drew off down the stretch to win by 4 ¾ lengths.

“He surprised me, the way he kept going after the wire,” Camacho said. “If I don't grab the horse, he wanted to keep going.”

Bringing King Guillermo back to the winner's circle, Camacho's emotions overflowed alongside those of all the colt's other connections.

“The groom was crying, I'm crying too. Everybody crying,” he said. “Everybody is from Venezuela. And Venezuela is not very good right now. And the people doing good in the United States from Venezuela, the people always ride from the heart… It doesn't happen so many times, the jockey, trainer, and owner from the same country. That's amazing.”

Camacho grew up in a horse racing family in Venezuela, watching his father ride over 900 winners. He first came to the United States in 2012 with his apprentice license, but only stayed for five months because he struggled after becoming a journeyman.

“When I lose the bug, I didn't get too much business,” Camacho explained. “I didn't get too many chances, so I can't pay my rent. If you're not doing good, it's hard, you know.”

He returned home before venturing back to the United States in 2016, but this time he brought along his wife and children.

“I feel great this time, because I got family,” he said. “And I'm working hard in Ocala, galloping horses and breaking babies and everything. I start riding the opening day in Tampa in 2016. I don't start winning, and nobody knows me.

“Three months later, I win my first race, and that horse paid $134. After I win that race, everybody gives me a chance. I get like two, three, four mounts in one race.”

Camacho won 44 races that first season in Florida, then 94 in 2017. In his third year Camacho finished second in the standings at Tampa, then last year he won the leading rider title.

“This year I'm in second, because I hurt my ankle,” he explained. “I'm working hard to defend my title and my dreams come true because I win the [Tampa Bay] Derby.”

Martinez told Tampa's publicity department that Camacho would retain the mount on King Guillermo for the Kentucky Derby and ponied up the $6,000 late Triple Crown nomination for the colt this week.

“He put him in the Kentucky Derby, he'll ride him in the Kentucky Derby,” Martinez said.

Camacho hasn't ever been to Churchill Downs, but he's started watching replays of the Kentucky Derby and other races beneath the Twin Spires to learn as much as he can before he gets a leg up on King Guillermo on the first Saturday in May.

“I've got the right horse,” Camacho said. “He is unbelievable. He has a big heart, and I have a lot of confidence in my horse because he got the speed. In the Derby, you gotta break and stay right there, because it's 20 horses. I believe a lot in my horse because he got the speed and I know he'll break and I'll get a good position like the Tampa Bay Derby. Put my horse right there, and not going too fast, like 23 and change, and if I can do that, I'll be there for sure, one-two.”

Another certainty is that Camacho's family will be at Churchill Downs to support him. His wife and four children were in the winner's circle after the Tampa Bay Derby, celebrating alongside Martinez and his family, and Camacho wants to make sure they are there for the next big day as well.

“Every day when I finish working, every kid is waiting for me to come give me a hug,” he said. “Wow. It's unbelievable, it's amazing. I feel great when the kids come to me… I gotta bring my family to the big time!”

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