(Getty)
Horse jockey John Velazquez heads into the 2017 Kentucky Derby, riding the horse named Always Dreaming, and there’s a good chance he could win. He has a great track record, winning his first Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2011, riding the horse called Animal Kingdom.
Velazquez is married to wife Leona O’Brien, living in New York, and the couple has two children together – a daughter named Lerina, and a son named Michael Patrick.
O’Brien is the daughter of horse trainer Leo O’Brien, who threw the couple’s wedding for them, according to the NY Times.
So, how did Velazquez and O’Brien get together? According to the NY Times, Velazquez spotted his future wife at Belmont Park one day. Velazquez recalled:
I asked Mike Smith who that pretty girl was and Mike laughed and said: ‘I’m going to be your agent. I’ll get you a date.’
Velazquez then went on to talk about his wedding, saying:
At the reception in Garden City we must have had close to 200 guests. Fifty of them flew here from Ireland and about 25 from Puerto Rico. It was a grand gathering of the families. It was terrific.
John Velazquez and his wife Leona after their #JockKaraoke performance! #Saratoga http://t.co/WBgJvRUkdP
When the couple married in 1994, Velazquez had been a graduate of Puerto Rico Jockey School for four years. Fortunately for Velazquez, wife O’Brien was well-versed in the horse-racing lifestyle as she told Post Star:
I understood (horse racing) more than Johnny’s family. His parents had never been to the racetrack. He was the first one in his family to have anything to do with it. They would get very nervous after (setbacks) and say, ‘Oh, you should quit and come home to Puerto Rico,’ and I’d have to say, ‘No, he wants to be somebody. He could do real well as a jockey.’ I had a real good background for helping his family.”
O’Brien also said that some of the other wives at the races don’t even watch their husbands ride. She explained:
Some wives and girlfriends are really nervous watching. Some don’t even watch the races. I text him right away after the race and say, ‘good race’ … It’s harder for the women who didn’t grow up with it, but I think the majority of wives and girlfriends do have some kind of background because it’s so all-encompassing.
Perhaps O’Brien doesn’t get as nervous because she and her husband rely on faith a lot, as O’Brien says:
When he had a few bad falls, I think reality set in a little more. You know the possibility is always there. We’re spiritual people, Johnny and I, and I feel God will take care of Johnny. It does make you appreciate the highs when they happen.
Saratoga all-time leading jockey John Velazquez & wife Leona, @bcca board member w/Seth Merrow http://t.co/Tc7YISTa5Z
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