Over the span of two decades as a professional jockey, Herbie Castillo, Jr. experienced success at the highest level of the sport. Among his 2,113 career victories, Castillo scored at the graded stakes level 36 times, including back-to-back wins in the 1993-94 GI Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park aboard Pistols and Roses (Darn That Alarm), success at Belmont Park in the 1999 GI Matron Stakes with Finder's Fee (Storm Cat), and a win in the 2000 GI Metropolitan Handicap with Yankee Victor (Saint Ballado).To an outsider, Castillo had everything going for him. A native of Panama, he immigrated to the United States at a young age with his family where they established themselves in New Orleans, Louisiana. Inspired by various family members' involvement, along with his jockey-turned-trainer father, Castillo carved his own path into the sport. By the time he was 16, he had officially kicked off his career as a jockey at Fair Grounds.Castillo's success in the saddle grew as he was given opportunities to ride top-level horses for some of the country's most successful trainers. But along with his career achievements came personal and physical detriments as Castillo faced injury after injury and struggled to maintain his weight. To numb the pain and quell the pressure, he turned to drugs and alcohol.“Between losing weight, which involves disciplining yourself to a diet that's really not for anyone, and the peer pressure that comes when you're on the spot having to perform within two minutes of a race, it's a lot,” said Castillo. “I've been fortunate enough that I had the opportunity to ride with and for a lot of Hall of Famers and I learned a lot. I've been blessed in that perspective of the business. But as a jockey, you're a self-contractor, so you're only making money when you ride. With that, injuries come into play and you don't know what the length of recovery time will be, which leads some to get hooked on drugs.“I'll admit, I was hooked on Oxycodone after I had some knee surgeries. I got off of them on my own, thank God, but at the same time I substituted [Oxycodone] with alcohol to kill the pain. I'd blackout at night, but when tomorrow came around, I still had the pain.”Herbie Castillo, Jr. aboard Randaroo winning the 2003 Top Flight Handicap | HorsephotosCastillo officially retired from his career as a jockey in 2006 but remained involved in the industry, later transitioning to work in a variety of roles including exercise rider, foreman, and assistant trainer for different barns.“The pressure of the industry can get to someone mentally. It's not an easy sport [to work in]. You put it all on the line, and that's what you get paid the big bucks for, but when you're on that pedestal, you better prove that you're worth it. As easy as you got there, it's just as easy for you to be replaced, you know?“I had dwindled to the point that I had given up on life. I had no ambition to keep going and all I wanted to do was drink. I think it was partially due to being in relationships that I came out of, I couldn't handle it. My weight also got to me, which was the reason I had to retire from riding at such an early age, and I became more or less bored,” said Castillo. “Being around the track escalated my drinking to a point where I couldn't get a grip on it. I tried a long-term recovery program for a while, but came back [to the track] within months and found myself in the same situation. In the process, I ruined a lot of friendships and my own family lost respect for me.”By January of 2025, Castillo was in Florida working for trainer Kenny McPeek. It was McPeek, along with Steve Hayes and his mother, Ann, who arranged for Castillo to ride in a horse van to Lexington, Kentucky to enter the Stable Recovery program.“Through the process, I think God was trying to tell me something because not long after I committed to the year-long program, I found out that I had pneumonia. I also found out I had cirrhosis of the liver, a cyst on my kidney, and that the lymph nodes in my lungs were enflamed. The last thing was my hips. I couldn't walk, or function at the barn trying to do the manual labor, so Frank [Taylor] took me to his friend and I got two new hips in a year's time,” said Castillo.Though Castillo spent his life surrounded by horses, it was the structure and responsibility instilled in him while in Stable Recovery that helped him rediscover that passion for the animal, the healing qualities they emanate, and that feeling of once again being useful and having a purpose. For a man whose life had revolved around the notoriety of competing and succeeding at the top of the sport, Castillo was reminded me of true achievement: not the trophies or purse earnings, but the opportunity to change lives—his own included.Herbie Castillo, Jr. with his Stable Recovery Legacy Graduate banner | Courtesy of Herbie Castillo, Jr.“I've won some big races in my life, and accepted those trophies, but getting that banner for being a Stable Recovery legacy graduate and seeing it hung in the Preston House was the most amazing thing,” said Castillo.While health issues and limited mobility prevented Castillo from pursuing a new chapter working hands-on with horses, an opportunity to work as a house manager for Stable Recovery was the next best thing. It's a role Castillo accepted following his graduation from the program in late January of this year.“I've been fortunate enough to stay here and help these guys. These guys are always asking for my advice as far as handling situations. I put myself in their shoes and think about how I would approach the situation with them,” said Castillo. “I'm grateful that I've had a second chance at life. I try to do everything that I'm supposed to be doing. This is not an easy fix. It's 24 hours a day, every day, applying what I've learned in this program. They instilled in me responsibility, discipline, accountability, and structure, which I had when I was riding, but I lost it all somewhere. Whether it was for the wrong reasons or right reasons, I didn't have that [foundation]. I'm glad I came here.”After retiring from race riding, Castillo felt he had lost his way. Today, a year and a half sober, he has found something the winner's circle could never offer: a renewed sense of purpose.Stable Recovery is a recovery housing program in Lexington, Kentucky that offers men and women in the early stages of recovery access to 12-step meetings, life skills training and, through the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship, the opportunity to develop a trade in the equine field.To learn more about Stable Recovery, click here.The post The Road Back: Retired Jockey Herbie Castillo, Jr. Reclaims His Life Through Stable Recovery appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.