Career
He was introduced to horse racing at age fifteen by trainer Carlos Salazar Guardia in his native Panama and enrolled in the national jockey school. In his first year of racing he was his country"s top apprentice jockey and was the leading rider again in 1994 and 1995. In 1996 Cornelio Velasquez emigrated to the United States to race at Elmont, New York"s Belmont Park.
During the ensuing ten years he competed at meets at tracks in Kentucky and Florida, winning several riding titles.