Eddie Belmonte

Eddie Belmonte died on September 30, 2026, at the age of 83, at Hospital San Francisco in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, after several days in hospital. Estudio Hípico con Joe Bruno first reported the death. The Puerto Rican Horse Racing Hall of Fame, through president Jorge Colón Delgado, issued a statement mourning "a legendary figure in the history of Puerto Rican horse racing." Thoroughbred Daily News, El Nuevo Día, Primera Hora, El Vocero and other outlets marked his passing and stressed his role paving the way for later Puerto Rican jockeys in the United States. No cause of death was made public. Funeral details were not widely announced in the first reports.

Eddie Belmonte was born on February 5, 1943, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, beside the former Hipódromo Las Casas. His father, Francisco "Paco" Belmonte, was a celebrated Puerto Rican jockey who later trained and owned horses; his brothers Juan (Johnny) and Carlos also entered the sport as riders, with Carlos later training. Eddie grew up in a household where Thoroughbred racing was the family trade.

Belmonte learned race-riding on Puerto Rican tracks rather than through a conventional college path. He entered the apprentice ranks at Hipódromo El Comandante, debuting on February 3, 1961, on Moslem Prince (third) and taking his first win ten days later on San Carlos, trained by his brother Carlos. The apprenticeship under family trainers and island horsemen shaped the style that later traveled to New York.

Belmonte led Puerto Rico in wins in 1963 (107) and 1964 (95), then moved to the United States late in 1964. In 1966 he became the first Puerto Rican jockey in the Kentucky Derby (Exhibitionist, ninth). On May 16, 1970, he won the Preakness Stakes on Personality by a neck over My Dad George, the first Puerto Rican victory in a U.S. Triple Crown race. Personality also won the Wood Memorial, Jersey Derby, Jim Dandy and Woodward under Belmonte and was named 1970 Horse of the Year by the Thoroughbred Racing Association. Other major scores included the Whitney, Donn, Metropolitan, Santa Anita Handicap, Brooklyn Handicap, Hawthorne Gold Cup and Hollywood Derby. On February 17, 1972, he rode five winners at Santa Anita; in 1973 he rode El Famoso in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Career wins exceeded 1,800 (about 321 in Puerto Rico, including 11 classics, and roughly 1,500 in the United States per Puerto Rican obituaries). He retired from riding in 1976, briefly returned in 1977, then worked as an agent, instructor and arrival judge.

A 1977 New York Times profile described Belmonte as twice divorced, living in a Queens Village apartment while working as a jockeys' agent. It named sons Eddie Jr. and Willie from his first marriage, a younger son from his second marriage, and a daughter, Edith, who was living with his parents in Puerto Rico. Willie Belmonte later appeared in East Coast racing as a jockey and trainer. During his peak years Belmonte was known for flashy clothes, fine cars and a high public profile; by late 1977 he told the Times the money from those years was gone and the agency grind was hard work. He kept close ties to Puerto Rico and to younger riders he mentored.

Belmonte spoke often about opportunity for Puerto Rican riders in the United States. He recalled racing to the airport to stop a frustrated Ángel Cordero Jr. from flying home, emptying Cordero's suitcase and promising to help him find better mounts. Of a young John Velázquez he praised calm on a horse as the main gift, advised him to learn English quickly, and steered him toward Cordero's network. He described agent work as constant selling: trainers already knew what a rider could do, so the job was to keep talking.

Puerto Rican and U.S. obituaries cast Belmonte as the pioneer who opened American racing for later island stars, including Hall of Famers Ángel Cordero Jr. and John Velázquez and later champions Irad Ortiz Jr. and José Luis Ortiz. His 1970 Preakness win remains the landmark first Triple Crown-race victory by a Puerto Rican jockey. Ismael Rivera's song "Cordero y Belmonte" fixed that moment in plena culture. Hall of Fame president Jorge Colón Delgado called him a legendary figure in Puerto Rican horse racing history.

Belmonte was inducted into the Puerto Rican Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2000 (his father entered in 1988). He is also a member of the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame and the sports halls of Santurce and Río Piedras (exalted in Río Piedras in 2018). Personality's 1970 Eclipse / TRA championships stand as the signature partnership of his riding career. Leading rider titles in Puerto Rico in 1963 and 1964 remain foundational early honors.

Belmonte appeared in Life magazine with Ángel Cordero Jr. and Jorge Velásquez as one of racing's best-dressed athletes. Ismael Rivera y sus Cachimbos recorded "Cordero y Belmonte" on the Controversia album after the Preakness breakthrough. Puerto Rican racing media, especially Estudio Hípico con Joe Bruno, kept his races and later interviews in circulation; Joe Bruno Ortiz also wrote his El Vocero obituary. Archival race films of the 1970 Preakness and other Belmonte wins remain online through racing historians and Joe Bruno's channels.

In 1981 New York racing officials barred Belmonte from working as a jockeys' agent after rider Jose Amy alleged that several jockeys had taken part in race-fixing schemes. Belmonte was among those implicated and denied any wrongdoing. Thoroughbred Daily News noted the episode in its 2026 obituary as a controversial chapter after his riding career.