Cornelio H. Velásquez is a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

. He was introduced to horse racing at age fifteen by trainer Carlos Salazar Guardia in his native Panama and enrolled in the national jockey school. In his first year of racing he was his country's top apprentice jockey and was the leading rider again in 1994 and 1995.

In 1996 Cornelio Velasquez emigrated to the United States to race at Elmont, New York's

Elmont, New York

Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...

 Belmont Park

Belmont Park

Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...

. During the ensuing ten years he competed at meets at tracks in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, winning several riding titles. His big break came in 2003 when he won his first Breeders' Cup

Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...

 on Cajun Beat

Cajun Beat

Cajun Beat is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2003 Breeders' Cup Sprint at 25-1. Owned by Padua Stable and John & Joseph Iracane, Cajun Beat retired from racing in April of 2005 having won seven of nineteen starts and with earnings of $1,159,100.-References:*...

 in the Breeders' Cup Sprint

Breeders' Cup Sprint

The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...

. A two-time winner of Breeders' Cup

Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...

 races, in 2005 Velasquez rode Closing Argument to a second place finish in the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 and in 2007 is scheduled to compete on the well-regarded colt

Colt (horse)

A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....

, Nobiz Like Shobiz

Nobiz Like Shobiz

Nobiz Like Shobiz is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, who during his three-year-old season was considered a top contender for the 2007U.S. Triple Crown series of races...

.

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (2000–present)
!Peak
position
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000
| style="text-align:center;"|62
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001
| style="text-align:center;"|33
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002
| style="text-align:center;"|17
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|26