In Their Footsteps: Joe Santos

On May 3, 2003, beaming jockey Jose Santos hoisted his young son onto his shoulders, celebrating his minutes-old victory in the GI Kentucky Derby aboard Funny Cide (Distorted Humor). The resulting winners' circle photo, depicting an adorable kid holding a rose aloft in pure joy, made headlines and introduced Jose “Joe” Santos, Jr., to the world. Now 23, Joe is making his own mark as a jockey's agent. Joe has been a racetrack regular since birth.

“The first time I ever went out, I was about six days old, since it was kind of one of those things [where] I don't have much of a choice, you know?” he recalled. “I wanted to ride races–that's all I wanted to do–and then just time went on and I kept getting bigger and bigger.”

Along with his parents and older sister, Nadia, Joe moved from Florida to New York and back again for each meet. Once Nadia entered high school, they settled in Hollywood, Florida.

Around age 14, Joe had grown too tall to follow in his father's bootprints. By that time, his dad had retired from his Hall of Fame career and managed jockeys like Fernando Jara. From an early age, Joe always enjoyed parsing the condition book, but working with riders–combined with analyzing results to predict the outcomes of future races–proved a potent combination.

His proud father, who now resides in Florida and runs a feed company, recalled his son's keen mind.

“He always liked to go to the jockey's room and he can tell by name, jockey by jockey, what position was taken during the race,” Jose Sr. said. “He always had a great mind to keep the name of the horses in his head. When I need some information about a horse, I don't need a computer. I just call him and ask him about it.”

Joe has known the industry's best and brightest since birth.

“You get to learn a lot from a lot of people and I was fortunate where I was able to be surrounded by the best that there is in the game,” he said.

On a daily basis, he associates professionally with trainers like D. Wayne Lukas and Ron Moquett, individuals he's known personally since childhood. He also soaked up knowledge from the best jockeys in America.

“He works hard,” said Jose Sr. “He works hard for his jockeys and he puts a lot of energy into it and I think he's been rewarded right now. I am definitely very proud of my son, of course. He's a very lovely kid and I love him very much.”

While working at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville several years ago, Joe got in touch with California-based agent Nelson Arroyo, brother of jockey Norberto Jr. From there, he picked up more riders and turned a passion into a full-time career. Now, he spends nine months out of the year in Louisville–where he also attends college–and winters in Oaklawn. And his professionalism belies his youth.

“At first, I was a little timid about it, but everyone's here, just trying to do their job,” Santos said. “I just go up and ask.”

Past clients include Kent Desormeaux and leading Ellis Park pilot Didiel Osorio, who he worked with for three years. Agent Lou Rivera paired him with Desormeaux at a time when the Hall of Famer was going through a quiet period, career-wise.

“I got hooked up with Kent and we were lucky enough to win the [2014 GII] Charles Town Classic together with Imperative.”

The two already knew one another–Joe is close friends with Desormeaux's son Josh and spent summers at Saratoga with his family–and helped boost each other's respective profiles.

“I'm glad I was able to help him out and he was able to help me out,” Santos added. “He showed people that I could be trusted with a serious rider.”

Joe currently manages C.J. McMahon, a client since September 2017, and David Cabrera, a client since January 2018.

“I've been really lucky with the riders I've had,” Santos said. “I like to keep good communication with my riders. As long as they're always informed of what's going on, they're comfortable, as well. I'm real lucky. I've got real lucky that they sell themselves pretty well. I put them on horses and I've got no complaints.”

Joe is also majoring in communications at Bellarmine University in Louisville. He began his degree at the University of Louisville, but eventually transferred when his jockeys got the opportunity to ride horses for Moquett, including Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect). Joe is taking off the spring of 2018 to work, returning to school in the fall. Also interested in television production, he is only 36 credits shy of the 120 credits he needs to achieve his bachelor of arts.

Although Joe's career is in its infancy, he is already working towards lofty heights. He hopes to model himself after Ron Anderson, agent to the likes of Jerry Bailey and Joel Rosario throughout a long career.

“I look at him and I'm fortunate to where I've known him my whole life,” he said. “There's no one in the world that can talk badly about him because he's the ultimate professional.”

Joe also cited Jimmy Riccio, agent for Jose Ortiz, Ruben Munoz, who represents Ricardo Santana, Jr., and Derek Lawson, agent for Flavien Prat, as mentors.

Fifteen years after the 2003 Derby, Joe called that May day “by far the most memorable day of my life, completely, just from start to finish.”

That morning, Jose Sr. told his son, “We're winning the Kentucky Derby today.”

Taking a pause to reflect, Joe said, “I remember him turning for home and just watching it right here in our box and when he came running by there at the eighth pole, I was losing my mind. It can happen to anybody.”