Kendrick Carmouche celebrated when he crossed the wire first aboard the Jack Sisterson-trained True Timber in Saturday's Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, but it wasn't until he was jogging back to the winner's circle that the 36-year-old jockey recognized the full scope of his accomplishment.
“Was this a Grade 1?” Carmouche asked, voice full of emotion. “Oh, this is my first Grade 1!”
“Was this a grade one?!” @KendrickCarmou1 exclaims as he makes his way back to the winner's circle with TRUE TIMBER in the Cigar Mile! This is Kendrick's first G1 victory!!!!!
*cue the tears* pic.twitter.com/Es7AuPHeOL
— NYRA (🏙) (@TheNYRA) December 5, 2020
Asked to relive that moment during a telephone interview, Carmouche's voice wavered before he found the right words.
“What you see (in that video) is just half of it,” he explained. “There was so much that was built up to get up to this point of my career, so much push and so much fight, and not only a Grade 1, but the Cigar Mile. It's just unbelievable. I didn't even know it was a Grade 1 until I came back, because I don't look at the top of the program. I just look at the horses.”
A favorite of fans and fellow jockeys alike, Carmouche has mastered the art of being tough during the races while still retaining a high level of sportsmanship and humility on the ground.
His emotional win in the Cigar Mile came after more than 20,000 career starts and over 20 years in the saddle, but it wasn't Carmouche's only milestone achievement of the weekend. On Sunday, the veteran jockey wrapped up his first New York riding title.
“I give thanks to everyone who put a good effort into supporting me and pushed me along to win this meet. I'm very appreciative,” Carmouche said. “I seized the opportunity at hand and I'm grateful for all the trainers and owners for letting me show other people that I can win races. I'm very blessed to say that I've come to New York five years ago and I got a title for the fall meet.”
Some of his favorite memories come from the small bush tracks, though one mount during a match race when he was 15 years old was enough to convince him to stick to exercise riding on a sanctioned racetrack.
“It was fun to watch it every single Saturday and Sunday of my life, and it was the best weekend any kid could have ever had,” Carmouche remembered. “It was just all friends, people coming together and having a good time. People played cards, ate good food, and just enjoyed each other; it was all good people and good memories. It got me where I'm at today.”
When Carmouche earned his apprentice jockey's license at 16, he spent four months riding in his home state, but his first real break didn't come until a family friend suggested he try Pennsylvania.
“My father told me to never pass up an opportunity,” Carmouche said. “You know, my father never really taught me about riding, he just told me to pay attention and listen. If I did have a question he gave me an answer, but mostly I just followed that.”
Over the next 14 years, Carmouche earned seven riding titles at Parx Racing.
He also rode all around the Northeast during his twenties, and remembers well the grind of long days on the track. There were days he would wake up to work horses at Delaware Park before riding the afternoon card there, then drive down to Charles Town in West Virginia to ride another six or seven races that evening. All that time he'd eat little besides a few ice chips, just enough to keep up his energy.
“This a hard world, but I'm from Louisiana, and working hard is the first thing they teach you in life,” Carmouche explained. “I got two kids, I gotta lead the way.”
Since his move to New York in 2015, Carmouche's accomplishments include receiving the 2017 Mike Venezia Memorial Award, the prestigious honor awarded to jockeys who exemplify extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship.
With these latest two accomplishments under his belt, Carmouche said he's humbled by the faith others have put in him.
“It's just been such a journey,” said Carmouche. “I love the people and the racehorses, and the jockeys. I love everything about it.
“Believe me when I tell you, your dreams can come true. You just gotta believe in your skills. You have to stick to a couple things in life and just drill on it, and just know that if you keep fighting in life you can keep strong and your dreams can come true.”
It was extra special to share the triumphs with his agent, Kevin Bubser. Carmouche brought him into the racing business, but the two have been best friends longer than they've been business partners.
“I knew what I was getting into,” Carmouche said, laughing good-naturedly. “We get mad at each other, but then we forget about it in the next 30 seconds. That's my boy; he's a good guy. He's getting really good at his craft, and I'm doing my part as a rider.
“I wish he was here with me; I just want to give him a hug! He's just a big teddy bear. He's 6'5” and he's solid, my brother with another mother.”
The distance from his agent and from the backstretch has been one of the most unique challenges presented by 2020, but it won't be the most difficult memory Carmouche has of this year.
In June, after watching the video of George Floyd's death at the hands of four police officers, Carmouche found himself unable to sleep for four nights until he shared a video of his emotions on social media.
“It is very sad to see what is going on in the world,” Carmouche said in the video, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I have a white wife and two kids and it's sad to see that it just never ends. It just never ends.”
Racism isn't something he's experienced on the racetrack, Carmouche said, but he can't deny that the rest of the world often sees color before anything else.
“I feel some type of way about things that are still going on in 2020, and I just don't understand some people,” he lamented. “The way I was raised is everybody is one, we don't have different colors. That's the way I've always felt.
“I don't want my kids to keep going through it. Come on guys, let's just make it better for our kids and move on. Peace and love, that's what we need more of out in the world.”
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