Ramos Partners With Flying Mohawk for First Derby Ride

Last May, Joe Ramos was recovering from a near-fatal motorcycle accident, hoping to return to the job he loves and visualizing the places that racing could take him. A year later, this rising star is back in the saddle and dreaming of roses, counting down the days to when he's scheduled to ride Flying Mohawk in the 151st Kentucky Derby (G1). With the support of trainer Whit Beckman and co-owner Jayson Werth behind him, Ramos brings both gratitude and grit to this unexpected opportunity, poised to make his chance to ride in America's biggest race a winning one. Growing up first in Guaynabo and then Carolina, Puerto Rico, outside of the capital San Juan, Ramos fell in love with horses early, sharing that "I've always loved horses. When I turned 12, one of my uncles, he bought a farm and he said, 'Your Christmas present, it will be a horse.' And I think that's the best Christmas present ever I have." His earliest exposure to the racetrack came via his grandfather. After school, Ramos would go to his abuelo's house to find the day's races blaring on the television. His small stature inspired his grandfather to "say, 'I don't want you to grow because I want you to be my jockey,'" Ramos recalled. With that idea planted in his mind, Ramos took to carrying a riding crop around with him at school, which one of his teachers, a jockey agent, noticed. That moment led to a fateful conversation about a career in the saddle. "He said, 'You tell your mom, I'll take you there,'" Ramos remembered. "I came home and I was like, 'Mom, my professor told me that he wants to take me to the jockey school because of my size, blah, blah, blah.' And she's like, 'Oh, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. You tell that to your grandpa; I think he'll love it.' And (when) I tell him, he said, 'Go for it.'" With the support of his family behind him, Ramos attended the Escuela Vocacional Hípica, the jockey school at Hipódromo Camarero, located near San Juan. There, Ramos went to school from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., participating in the school's jockey program until 3 p.m. and then taking academic classes for the last part of the school day. Sitting in a classroom that happens to be part of a racetrack definitely stirred something in this aspiring rider. "While you're in school, you can hear horses around the racetrack because it's noon and they race in Puerto Rico at noon," he said. "So, you can hear while you're taking classes, you can hear the horses, the vibration from the horses, because the school is like in the basement of the racetrack. You get that vibration, that energy." After graduating, Ramos started riding at Camarero and then moved his tack to the Midwest, riding at Turfway Park, Belterra Park, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Horseshoe Indianapolis, and other tracks, and winning leading apprentice titles at both Belterra and Indiana Grand (now Horseshoe Indianapolis) in 2019. The native Puerto Rican now makes his home in Shelbyville, Ind., and continues to ride at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where he was leading rider in 2022 and 2023. He was also able to connect with Beckman, who would tap Ramos to ride for him whenever he sent a horse to the racetrack. The two struck up a rapport, a relationship that has led to Ramos's biggest opportunity yet: a chance to ride Flying Mohawk in this year's Kentucky Derby. THE ACCIDENT Ramos almost missed this opportunity. He was riding at Turfway Park in January 2024 and decided to go home to visit his mother, Gloria, and his three siblings when a snowstorm cancelled racing at the northern Kentucky track. The 25-year-old jockey was driving his motorcycle on the highway in Puerto Rico when high winds caused him to lose control. The ensuing accident left him with a broken clavicle, hairline skull fractures, a brain bleed, and severe road rash, especially on his head, injuries exacerbated by the fact that he was not wearing a helmet. "It was pretty bad. I almost died. I mean, I'm blessed to be alive," the rider shared. His recovery took eight months and left Ramos questioning what the future held for him. "At the beginning, I thought that I'm never going to be able to ride horses," he shared. "And when I started getting in recovery, when the time went and I started feeling like I was able to do different stuff at home, I started thinking like, 'Oh, am I going to be able to ride back?'" Ramos recalled that as he recovered, "I used to bend over at the hospital whenever they tell me that I can stand up. I used to bend over as a jockey and just make the jockey position to see how I feel. And Mom used to say, 'Oh, lay back, you need to recover.' I said, 'Mom, I need to check myself.'" Determined to get back to what he loves, Ramos focused on finding his riding fitness again as he cherished the time with his family. He credits them for helping him get through the eight-month recovery. He returned to riding in September 2024, with a reinvigorated love for his job and for the sport. "Now I can see everything in a different way, thinking about it as an agent, as a hot walker because they're putting (in) the work every single day," Ramos reflected. "And to be a jockey, you need to make that effort for the people who are trusting in you. That's very important to me, riding for people who care about the sport, who care about horses, and they do the right thing." GETTING A DERBY RIDE Ramos's hard work and gratitude have made an impression on the ownership behind Flying Mohawk, including Werth, the former Major League Baseball All-Star and World Series champion who has made racing his new passion, especially after winning last year's Belmont Stakes (G1) with Dornoch, who also finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby. "This time last year, we had no aspirations of ever running the Kentucky Derby again," Werth shared as he anticipates another trip to Churchill Downs. "Life can be so unexpected and just cool sometimes. It can be cruel and awful at other times. And this is one of those moments that you really savor." Werth co-owns Flying Mohawk in partnership with Jeff Berry and Shawn Kaleta. The son of 2014 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner Karakontie (JPN) has raced five times on the turf, winning twice including a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs in October. Beckman surprised Werth this winter when he shared his plan for the colt. "Whit calls and says, 'I want to hold him back and get him ready for his 3-year-old year. He laid out this plan to run in the (Jeff Ruby Steaks)," Werth remembered. "And then finally, I'm like, 'Wait, wait, wait, the Ruby is a Derby prep race.' And he's like, 'Yeah, but it's also like a $750,000 purse.'" Prior to their turn in Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park March 22, Flying Mohawk had not raced on an all-weather track, but he trained well on it in the lead-up. Beckman also needed a rider for the colt and tapped Ramos for the grade 3. Werth did not meet Ramos until they were standing in the paddock-but the young rider, who had earned his first career graded stakes win earlier that day at Turfway, made an immediate impression. "He's just got this aura about him," the retired baseball pro shared. "When you see him, it's like his hair's on fire. At all times, he's got this charisma. He got on the horse, and he just looked at me and pounded his chest. He's like, 'I got you, babe.' It just gave me chills." Ramos and Flying Mohawk were in flight at the end of the 1 1/8-mile Jeff Ruby, as the pair went from eighth at the six-furlong marker to second by 31/2 lengths at the finish. "I wasn't worried at all because I knew how much horse I had," the jockey observed. "I think the horse showed how much of a heart he got just running that type of race on a surface that he never had been on, because he can run on the grass." Werth credits that fast-closing second to the connection between Ramos and the dark bay or brown colt, which gives his team confidence ahead of the Derby. "He got it done. Him and Mohawk worked together," he shared. "Who am I to break that up? I'm a big believer. You go with what got you there." With his first ride in America's most famous race ahead of him, how is Ramos feeling about the big day? While he has ridden and won at Churchill Downs before, the first Saturday in May is a different experience altogether. Still, this rider is unfazed, understanding that "when the gate is open, it's just another race. You need to go around there and feel where you're going to be, what position you would like to be, what trip you want to get." Ramos's attitude and his approach to his job definitely have made an impression on the colt's co-owner, who understands elite athletes and the expectations that come with playing at the highest levels. "You can see his emotions and how he carries himself, his arrogance, his charisma, all that. It means something," Werth observed. "Professional athletes, they have this edge to them. They're special because there's not many people that can do what they do. These jockeys, these dudes are pro athletes. They're freaks. Physically and mentally, and Joe fits the bill." As for Flying Mohawk, a winner on turf who is making the switch to dirt for the Kentucky Derby, Werth has faith in both this equine athlete as well as his human partner. "He (Flying Mohawk) is just such a cool dude. Nothing bothers him," the owner shared. "I think you match that mentality with Joe's, who is always so cool and fearless and confident. You put those together, and I'll take my chances with my team all day." One thing is certain: Ramos will be in the saddle enjoying every second of the experience. "On Derby Day, on the racetrack, to feel that emotion. I almost lost my life, and after everything, I just want to be on the racetrack on Derby Day," he observed. And if he wins? A year after surviving that near-fatal accident, this up-and-coming rider knows, "if that happens, it would be like a miracle to come from where I was last year and then to win the Derby. That would be something else."