Immigrant of the Day: Pascual Rivera (Mexico), Horse Trainer of Champions

Columnist Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times tells us about our Immigrant of the Day, Pascual Rivera, an immigrant from Mexico. 

Rivera is the foreman of the horse trainers at the barn of legendary trainer Bob Baffert.  The horse Justify is his dominant 3-year-old training for this Saturday’s Belmont Stakes and a shot at the Triple Crown. Rivera cared for many great horses, only to watch them depart for national glory while he stayed behind. “He knows these great horses as well as anyone, yet has never been in their winner’s circle photos, never in the newspaper accounts, never even watched them race outside of Southern California.”

Rivera has handled six Kentucky Derby winners in his 38-year career.  Rivera has always loved the horses. He grew up riding on a ranch in the Mexican state of Durango before coming to the United States when he was 14. Once here, unable to attend high school because he had to make money for his family, he took a job washing dishes at Bob’s Big Boy in Arcadia. He was so desperate to work with horses that he would sleep for two hours in a Big Boy booth after his shift ended at 2 a.m., then wake up and walk more than a mile to Santa Anita to watch the horses train.

Hat tip to my colleague Carter “Cappy” White.

KJ