[2] Gomez learned to ride by watching his father, Louie, who was a jockey at many tracks in the Southwest United States.

When Gomez was in the tenth grade, he dropped out of school to start his career as a jockey, and began riding at Santa Fe Downs in New Mexico in September 1988, picking up his first victory at that venue aboard Furlong Circle.

After a stint riding on the California Fair Circuit, Gomez switched his tack to the Midwest and rode at Ak-Sar-Ben and Fonner Park in Nebraska.

After his triumphs in the Midwest, Gomez moved west to California, and was successful right away, as he won the 1998 Hollywood Park Fall Meet riding title.

Then in 2006, jockey John Velazquez was injured in a riding accident at Keeneland, which meant that trainer Todd Pletcher needed a new lead rider on the East Coast, and turned to Gomez.

In the Belmont Stakes, he was booked to ride Hard Spun, which left the mount open on Rags To Riches for John Velazquez to pick up and win with.

At the end of the year, thanks to his stakes victory record and his $22.8 million in earnings, Gomez won the Eclipse Award for the Outstanding Jockey.

He had a chance to surpass the record for earnings by a jockey in one season, which is held by Jerry Bailey, but fell just over $10,000 short.

It is likely Gomez would've broken the record, but he was injured in a spill at Santa Anita on the final Saturday of 2008 and had to miss the following race card where Proudinsky, who he was scheduled to ride, won the $150,000 San Gabriel Handicap.

I was hanging around the jockeys' room hoping to pick up something and Martin (Pedroza, the regular rider of Cenizo) didn't feel well.

"[9] In 2010 Gomez picked up his biggest win to date when he won the Breeders' Cup Classic with Blame, handing champion mare Zenyatta her only loss in the process.

"[12] In May 2012, he teamed up with Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award winner Rudolph Alvarado to write The Garrett Gomez Story: A Jockey's Journey Through Addiction & Salvation.

He returned later in the year at Del Mar and also made appearances at Belmont and Woodbine, but he then left again during the fall meet at Keeneland.