Mirco Demuro Rises to the Top of the Del Mar Standings

[Wandering Eyes]

It's no surprise that Italian-born jockeys are doing well at the current meet at Del Mar. They have been making their mark in Southern California for some time now. Antonio Fresu is second in the standings and Umberto Rispoli is third. But who is the leading rider? The answer might surprise you.

The 46-year-old veteran Mirco Demuro, who left Japan earlier this year to try the Southern California circuit, went into the weekend at Del Mar on top of the jockey standings with 10 winners. He has had just 22 mounts, good for a 45 percent winning clip. While Demuro has had considerable success riding in Italy and Japan, no one could have expected that he would do this well at the Bing Crosby meet. At the recently concluded Santa Anita meet, he finished in eighth place in the standings with just seven winners.

“Yes, of course, I was discouraged,” he said. “It's not easy. You move and go to a new country and you're already 46 and people look at you like he's not young, we don't have anything for him to ride. But I had the support of Richard Mandella. People saw that he was using me using me and, thank God, we got some winners. That made it easier for me to grab rides for some more trainers. Still, nothing is easy. You say, 'Now, okay, I'm winning and the wind is at my back.'  This is a hard job. You have to prove yourself. You have to prove to people that you will try hard and that you are good.”

Demuro started riding in 1994 in Italy and was the leading rider there from 1997 through 2000. He wanted to try something different and was torn between coming to the U.S. or Japan. He chose Japan and went there in 1999. In 2003, he won the Japanese Derby with Neo Universe (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), becoming the first non-Japanese jockey to win the race.

He said his career really started to take off in 2011 when he won the G1 Dubai World Cup aboard Victoire Pisa (Jpn) (Neo Universe {Jpn}).

“That win definitely changed my career,” he said. “I was leading jockey in Italy and then I went to Japan. Japan is a small island and nobody knows you. Everybody watches the Dubai World Cup. It's like the Arc de Triomphe or the King George. When you win a race like that everybody starts to say, 'Oh, who is that guy?' It was a big step for my life.”

But he said his business started to decline over the last five years in Japan. The reason why? They thought he was too old.

“They weren't using me as much,” Demuro said. “The excuse was they said I was getting old. But I didn't feel that way. It's good to have young jockeys and they will get their opportunities. I got my opportunities when I was young. But I don't see myself as an old type of jockey. I think I can still compare with these guys.”

He had always wanted to try to make it in the U.S. and with his business slumping in Japan he figured the time was now. He made his U.S. debut on July 18, 2025. One of the reasons he thought he could make it in California was because he had a good relationship with Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, who has put him on two winners at the meet. For Mandella, he also won his first graded stakes in the U.S., guiding Brave Deb (Authentic) to a win in the GIII Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita.

“I have a long relationship with Richard Mandella,” Demuro said. “I was here when I was 17 years old and that was my first experience abroad. We've known each other for a long time. When I left Japan I came to California because this is always one of the places I wanted to ride. Richard was the first person who gave me a chance. I'm so grateful that he gave me that chance. And I am so happy to work with him.”

He has also ridden winners at the meet for Chief Stipe O'Neill, Paula Capestro, Leonard Powell and Genaro Vallejo.

“I am riding for the good stables now,” he said. “That's the key. I am getting good horses to ride and that is making everything easy.”

He has had the most success with Powell, winning three races at the meet for him.

“The thing that is very refreshing is that for a jockey with all his experience and all the recall he is very open-minded,” Powell said. “This was like a fresh start for him. As soon as he got here he knew that he had to adapt his style of riding to U.S. racing and he made the adjustments pretty fast. He's smart enough to know what he knows and what he doesn't know about U.S. racing. He's already had a lot of success in Japan, which is a very strong colony. I think he has all the tools to succeed here.”

Meanwhile, his Italian compatriots have proven to be his toughest foes at this meet.

“I've known Umberto for a long time,” he said. “When he started to ride I was already the leading jockey in Italy. We rode together in Italy, France and Hong Kong. I didn't know much about Antonio because when he started to ride I had already gone abroad, so I hadn't ridden with him before. My sister was his first agent in Italy. They are both very nice persons. They have different personalities. Umberto likes to talk a lot. Antonio is more quiet because he is from Sardinia. They are both very good riders.”

Now that he has momentum, Demuro is allowing himself to dream big. While he is delighted to be on top of the Del Mar standings, he wants to rise to the top of his profession and ride in Grade I races like the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup races.

“My dream is to become one of the best jockeys in the world,” he said. “To complete my dream I have to win group races in the United States. I've only ridden in the Breeders' Cup on Brave Deb and I have never ridden in the Kentucky Derby. That's always been one of my biggest dreams. I went to Japan when I was young because, as everyone knows, racing over there is very important and they have a lot of nice horses and big owners. I had the chance to go to Japan or to come to the U.S. and I chose to go to Japan and I was successful there. My last five years there I wasn't doing as well as I expected. I am 46 years old and I said to myself this is the time I have to go to the United States if I want to fulfill my dreams.”

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