TDN Weekend

What event taught you the most in life? I came to this country in '62 and I kept going back home. I went back in '62 and '63 and '64. So in '65 I was living with Eddie Belmonte, sleeping on a sofa in an apartment. I wasn't doing that great, so I started packing my clothes again. He said, 'where are you going?' I said, 'give me a ride to the airport.' He said, 'I'm not going to give you a ride. Why are you going back? You should not go back. They threw you out of there and they will do it again.' I said, 'I don't want to stay here and take a beating. I don't have money to pay you for the apartment.' He said, 'you don't have to.' Then he said, 'it's probably a better idea that you go back to Puerto Rico. New York is for good jockeys only.' That was what made me stay. He challenged me. When someone says you can't do something, it's a big challenge. I didn't think I was going to be that successful, but I thought I was a good rider when I came here. But I wasn't UHDOO\:KHQ,ORRNDWP\ƬOPV,OHDUQHGD lot coming to the United States. But in my mind, because I had done so good in my country, I thought I was a good rider when I came. When he said New York was only for good riders, it touched something in P\KHDUW,ƬJXUHG,ZRXOGVWD\KHUHDQG prove it and I got lucky. Was there a time or a race early in your career that made you think, 'Yes, I can be successful here in New York?' From '62 on, I came and left and came and left New York. I didn't do any good XQWLOWKHHQGRIoZDVWKHƬUVWWLPH ,ƬQLVKHGLQWKHWRSƬYHLQWKHVWDQGLQJVLQ New York. When I came back I was a leading rider in '68 and '69 and that made me feel like I could get to the top.

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