Jorge Velásquez is a thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 Hall of Fame jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

.

Jorge Velasquez career in thoroughbred racing began in his native Panama but as a teenager moved to the United States. In 1967 he won more races than any other American jockey and in 1969 was tops in money-winning.

In 1978 he became nationally famous for being one of the jockeys involved in probably the greatest rivalry in racing history. He finished second aboard Alydar

Alydar

Alydar was a chestnut colt and an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a feat not achieved before or repeated since.-Racing career:Trained by John M...

 to Affirmed

Affirmed

Affirmed was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the eleventh and most recent winner of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing...

 in all three of the 1978 American Triple Crown

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...

 races, losing by a combined total of less than two lengths. Velasquez and Alydar later achieved a small measure of satisfaction when they beat Affirmed in the 1978 Travers Stakes

Travers Stakes

The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...

. In 1981 he rode Pleasant Colony

Pleasant Colony

Pleasant Colony was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the 1981 U.S. Triple Crown series....

 to victory in the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 and Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 but missed winning the Triple Crown when they finished third to Summing

Summing

Summing was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. He was sired by stakes winner Verbatim out of the Never Say Die mare, Well Kept....

 in the Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

.

Velasquez won the 1985 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.-Automatic Berths:Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup...

 and the Breeders' Cup Classic

Breeders' Cup Classic

The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...

. In 1986, he was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...

 by his peers and in 1990 was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

. He retired as a jockey in 1997 having won 6,795 races. He worked as an official in racing and eventually became an agent

Sports agent

A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...

for other jockeys.