Growing up in Queens, Bobby Montano eventually became an actor and a dancer, a career he was happy to follow. But before that, his path took him in an entirely different direction. Montano, who was so small as a child that he was bullied, discovered horse racing and decided he wanted to be a jockey. On March 2, 1977, his dream came true as he rode in his first race at Aqueduct. He only rode in seven races and did not have a winner, but he left the sport with a story to tell. That story has turned into the Off-Broadway play “SMALL,” which Montano wrote and stars in. It's coming to New York and the 59 E. 59 Theater on Aug. 12 and will run through Sept. 2.
In advance of SMALL's run in New York, Montano joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to talk about the play and what has been a fascinating life full of ups and downs. Montano was the Green Group Guest of the Week.
Looking at those jockeys riding in New York, he saw people who were as small as he was, but instead of being bullied they were respected athletes, admired by thousands of racing fans. That's what he wanted for himself.
“I was tired of getting picked on,” he said. “But when I saw these little men coming out into the paddock area I saw that they were getting respect. It would get quiet and I would ask my mother what was happening and she said, 'The jockeys have come. That's called respect.' I was just so in love with the whole pageantry of it all. My mother was there to bet on her jockey friend Roberto Pineda. He reminded me of Bruce Lee and I was a huge fan of Bruce Lee.”
Nothing ever came easily for Montano on the racetrack. After a growth spurt, he became too big to be a jockey and his weight was the reason why he couldn't get any mounts. He rode for just five months. He resorted to using laxatives, amphetamines, cocaine and pills called Black Beauties. He would run 17 miles a day.
“I couldn't get there. I was just getting bigger and bigger, and I just didn't know what to do with my life,” he said.
Yet, Montano said he wouldn't trade his time on the racetrack for anything.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he said. “There are people who have made it work. I look at people like Trevor McCarthy, who I love. He's a wonderful rider and he's five-foot-ten. There were others, like Marco Castaneda. But they all had thin bones. I was born with thick bones. I just was fighting Mother Nature and there was just nothing I could do about it.”
After giving up on his dream to be a jockey, Montano saw Saturday Night Fever, went to the famous disco, the Rafters and discovered the world of dancing and acting. On television, he has appeared as one of Kim Cattrell's lovers, “We William,” in Sex In The City. He has guest starred in, CSI: Miami, Third Watch, Six Degrees, Law & Order, New York Undercover, Law & Order: SVU, Harrison – Cry Of The City, numerous soaps, and as Resto in the HBO film Undefeated, directed by John Leguizamo.
Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored byhttps://coolmore.com/https://lanesend.com/ the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, NYRABets.com, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, Stonestreet Farms and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Bill Finley, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman discussed the tragic breakdown of Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) in the GI Test S. Like virtually everyone else in racing, the team tried to come up with answers to what is a horrible problem for the sport but admitted that they had none. The GI Whitney S. was a major topic of discussion, from the huge performance by winner White Abarrio (Race Day) to the lackluster third-place finish by Cody's Wish (Curlin). Looking ahead at the weekend, the focus was on the GI Arlington Million and the other stakes formerly run at Arlington Park that will be run at Colonial Downs. Finley said the Million has lost its mojo since Arlington has closed and said it may be time to simply discontinue these races.
To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.
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