On Saturday, May 3rd in Louisville (KY), the 151st edition of the Kentucky Derby, the "Run for the Roses," will take place, the most important race in the United States. The favorite is Journalism, ridden by Italian jockey Umberto Rispoli, with whom he also won the Santa Anita Derby.

For a jockey, being among the participants in the Kentucky Derby is already an honor, and Umberto Rispoli has already participated twice, but with horses that didn’t have top chances. Rispoli was born in the Marche region but grew up in the Scampia neighborhood of Naples.

The horse Journalism is a magnificent bay that has raced 5 times so far. After finishing third in his debut, he went on to secure 4 consecutive victories, all with Umberto Rispoli in the saddle except for the first one.

Umberto is also an actor: he is one of the stars of the Netflix series that has just started filming, "Race for the Crown," which refers to the trilogy of races starting with the Kentucky Derby, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and concluding with the Belmont Stakes. Umberto Rispoli is part of the cast alongside Lanfranco Dettori and Antonio Fresu, two other Italians who are part of the colony of jockeys based in California.