Journalism’s Jockey Makes Up for Kentucky Derby Loss With History-Making Preakness Stakes Win

There’s nothing quite like racing and winning one of the Triple Crown races. Steeped in history and tradition and notoriously difficult, even winning on just one track of the three-race series is a special achievement. How special? Just ask Journalism’s jockey, Umberto Rispoli. The 36-year-old has raced in Italy, France, Japan, and Hong Kong. Yet nothing compared to winning the landmark 150th edition of the Preakness Stakes.

The veteran jockey narrowly missed out on winning the Kentucky Derby, as Sovereignty beat Journalism to the wire in the final stretch. To say Rispoli was disappointed would be an understatement. “They won by a couple of lengths. On the mud today, he (Sovereignty) was the best horse. Definitely, just to swallow the pill better, I would fight him on the better ground,” he said even before he had cleaned the dirt off his face. At Preakness, that loss seemed like a distant memory as the Italian created history.

“Great, absolutely great. I still try to realize what’s this feeling. It’s an absolutely different feeling than every race I’ve won all around the world. And I’m glad that this happened,” said Umberto Rispoli after etching his name in history as the first Italian jockey to win a Triple Crown race. After two decades of horse racing, the Kentucky Derby runner-up out this as his biggest win.

“When I crossed the wire, the first things that comes up to my mind, it’s all of the 20 years of my career that pass in front of me. I had to wait so long to be on a champion like that,” added Journalism’s rider. What made it even more special was not just that this was the 150th year of the Preakness Stakes, but also how he won. Early in the race, Goal Oriented, the Bob Baffert-trained colt, bumped hard into Journalism and Rispoli.

Umberto Rispoli is lost for words

It’s a different kind of feeling claiming The Preakness #preakness pic.twitter.com/keJZ3NiVvp

— World Horse Racing (@WHR) May 18, 2025

At that moment, trainer Michael McCarthy thought that it was all over. But Journalism and Rispoli fought hard and ran past Gosger to bring McCarthy his second win in a Triple Crown race. “It took guts for Umberto Rispoli to power his way through a seemingly impossible hole, getting side-swiped,” said Journalism’s co-owner, Aaron Wellman. And even in victory, Rispoli couldn’t help but talk about his family.

Journalism’s jockey has a terrific support system

“It’s all about everything, you know? They travel with me everywhere. My wife, she’s always brave to dress them (his children) up,” the jockey said about his family’s undying support. Whether he finished as the runner-up at the Kentucky Derby or won the Preakness, the racer’s family has always supported him from the grandstands.

Umberto Rispoli married Kimberley Rispoli Mosse over five years ago. However, the couple have been together since the racer’s days in Hong Kong. “I met Umberto in Hong Kong. He was our neighbor,” Rispoli Mosse told Equidia.fr in July 2024. Kimberley Rispoli Mosse also comes from a family with a passion for horse racing. Kimberley’s father, Gerald Rosse, is an illustrious jockey himself, having won numerous races in France, and has taught Journalism’s jockey a lot. And while initially, he did not have any problems with his daughter hanging out with Umberto, he did once go on to warn him not to “try anything” with his daughter. However, per Kimberley, Umberto told him that it was too late as they were already together.

So, from girlfriend to fiancée to wife, Kimberly has always supported Umberto Rispoli through thick and thin. And now, after all these years, not just her, but their children, Hayden (7) and Aramis (3), also watched their father make history at the Preakness Stakes.

The post Journalism’s Jockey Makes Up for Kentucky Derby Loss With History-Making Preakness Stakes Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.