The Kentucky Derby, perhaps the most famous horse race in the world, is over. Mystik Dan, with a time of 2:03.34, won the 150th version of the race. And now, the sports world is celebrating not just the horse and its jockey, but everyone involved with getting Mystik Dan to the finish line. That includes Oswaldo Salazar, Mystik Dan’s groom.
What exactly does a groom do and why is Salazar getting all this attention? A groom basically takes care of a horse, with daily tasks including mucking out, grooming, feeding as well as talking the horses out for grazing and riding. It is also the groom’s responsibility to report any changes in the horse to the trainer. Basically, the groom is the person who spends the most time with a horse and has the strongest connection with the horse. In Mystik Dan’s case, that’s Oswaldo Salazar.
Salazar’s reaction after the win was one of jubilation, as he celebrated with his family the fact that the hard work had paid off.
Before, Salazar was right there, as he always is, to guide Mystik Dan around on his victory lap.
Later even, he gave an interview about what it meant for him to be the groom of a Kentucky Derby winner, saying that Mystik Dan is generally a “very well-behaved horse,” and adding that for him, it’s “impossible to explain how I feel because I’ve never been here before.” Salazar, who’d been the groom for other horses who’d participated in the Kentucky Derby, had never had one of his horses win until this year.
“It is a groom’s dream to have a horse in the Kentucky Derby and to win it, that makes me even happier,” Salazar said.