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| Jockey Talamo Looking Forward To Belated Kentucky Derby Debut |
Jockey Joe Talamo was planning to make his Kentucky Derby debut in the 2009 race, and had every reason to be excited. He was slated to ride the pre-race wagering favorite, I Want Revenge but on the morning of the Derby his worst fears became a reality—the horse was a last minute scratch and he was left a mere spectator for the sport’s most hallowed competition. He’s hoping to have a much better experience this year as he makes a delayed Kentucky Derby debut aboard Sidney's Candy. Despite the Kentucky Derby disappointment, Talamo has had a memorable year. He appeared on the Animal Planet network reality TV series ‘Jockeys’, and shared the stage with Conan O’Brian during his ill fated stint hosting ‘The Tonight Show’. A native of New Orleans, Talamo suggested that the biggest thrill of all during the past year was watching the long suffering Saints win the Super Bowl: "I was stuck on the couch that day. It was unbelievable. Words can't explain it. It was important for the whole city, especially after Katrina. My family back home sent me all kinds of Saints stuff, like 'Who dat?' shirts." Talamo’s memories of his ill fated 2009 Kentucky Derby ride aren’t quite as positive: "When I think back, I'm still in shock. To this day, I don't think it ever really sank in. It was like a bad nightmare come true. When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it. I didn't have any emotions. I was sad, devastated, all combined into one." Despite the shock, he didn’t allow himself to dwell on the disappointment: "I never let myself think that. I had a great time. I tried to make a positive out of a negative situation. If he ran in the race, there's no telling what could have happened. Better they found what was wrong in the stall rather than out on the track. There's no future in the past. With horse racing, you have to keep going with the flow." Talamo wasn’t portrayed in a very favorable light on the ‘Jockeys’ reality series, but he suggests that was by design: "They wanted me to be the cocky bad guy. I'm laid-back. We all had a good time doing it. It was good for racing. I'm no actor by far. Sometimes it got to be a little bit of a soap opera. Some of it was staged. That's TV. But I had fun with it." Speaking of his 2010 Derby ride, Syndey’s Candy he recalls his first race aboard the horse at Del Mar last year: "He was push-button back then. You'd smooch to him, and he'd take off. He was the kind of horse a jockey looks for. He finished second first time out, then the second time, he blew the field away. When he came back in December, he was a more mature horse. It was all to his advantage having that time off." At this point, Talamo is more bullish on Sydney’s Candy than Kentucky Derby betting enthusiasts. His horse opened at 22-1 in the first future betting pool of the year. Sydney’s Candy’s odds were even longer in the closing odds for the second Derby futures pool at 33-1. 
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The Kentucky Derby is now less than two weeks away but plenty of questions remain about which horses will make up the field for the 136th ‘run for the roses’. Many of these questions will be answered this coming weekend after the $200,000 Grade 3 Derby Trial scheduled for Saturday’s opening day at Churchill Downs. Eightyfiveinafifty and Pleasant Prince wouldn’t be likely to make the Derby field unless they pull off a win in the Derby Trial as the $200,000 top prize would vault them into the top twenty money earner list.
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