BREAUX BRIDGE, La. — Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux was arrested on a domestic abuse charge in Louisiana, authorities said Friday.
Desormeaux, 51, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner, was arrested in Breaux Bridge on a charge of domestic abuse battery/strangulation, the Breaux Bridge Police Department stated in a news release.
The Louisiana native had been scheduled to ride Stilleto Boy for trainer Ed Moger Jr. in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, the Daily Racing Form reported. He was replaced by Jose Ortiz, who guided Stilleto Boy to a wire-to-wire victory in the Iowa Derby on July 2, 2021.
The jockey, who has a history of alcohol use and legal troubles, was arrested Friday morning but posted bail several hours later, Bloodhorse.com reported.
Desormeaux’s agent, Tony Matos, said he had been unable to reach the jockey, who had two other mounts Saturday at Gulfstream.
In 2010 and 2012, Desormeaux failed Breathalyzer tests on race day, the Daily Racing Form reported. In 2011 he entered a guilty plea on a charge of disorderly conduct after hitting a security guard with his car at Saratoga Race Course in New York, the website reported.
Desormeaux checked himself into a rehabilitation facility in 2016, a week after he won the Preakness on Exaggerator, according to the Daily Racing Form.
In 2020, Desormeaux was suspended for 15 days by the California Horse Racing Board after he used a racial slur against a Black cameraman, which led to an altercation between the two men, the website reported.
Desormeaux won the Kentucky Derby in 1998 aboard Real Quiet, in 2000 on Fusaichi Pegusus and in 2008 aboard Big Brown. He missed winning the Triple Crown in 1998 when Real Quiet lost the Belmont Stakes by a nose to Victory Gallop.
The jockey also won the Preakness three times (1998, 2008 and 2016) and won the Belmont Stakes in 2009 aboard Summer Bird. Desormeaux also has six victories in Breeders’ Cup races, most recently in 2017.
Desormeaux was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2004. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1989 and 1992.