click to enlarge The first race won by Alberto Carrasco in 1976 with the horse Orligh.

My father, Marcos Carrasco, was born in Villa Bugati in Lasarte Racecourse, in San Sebastian, the name which my grandfather gave it, because previously the racecourse had been a military airport in the Spanish Civil War, and later a circuit of car racing, and finally the racecourse was opened.
My father came to Madrid, where he began ridding as a jockey and later he became a trainer.
He was the person who taught me to ride, because at that time there was not an Apprentices School.
From the age of six months I lived in the Madrid Racecourse, at 13 I started riding, and at 14 I made my first appearance in the Lasarte Racecourse, on 15th August of 1.976 with Orleigh, with whom I later won my first race in Madrid, on 17th October of 1.976.

A very good relationship, I learnt everything, though more than teach he gave me a great deal of advice, and I who was stubborn, wanted to learn everything immediately.
I also was very keen to see how Claudio Carudel or Roman Martin rode in races and at the morning trainings, and you always have an idol, who for me was Roman Martin.
When people asked me which jockey I would like to be, I always said, "I would like to have the gait sense of Claudio Carudel, the character at the finish of Roman Martin, the arms of Jose Antonio Borrego, and then I would be the perfect jockey.

I do not know exactly, about 1.500 races and I have won 135, between flat races and hurdles, though I did not ride much in hardles, I rode about 40 races and I won nine.

click to enlarge GRAND PRIX OF MADRID OF 1978. The first Grand Prix ridden by Alberto Carrasco. He was the third in the winning post.

It was a verbal contract , because my father did not want me to sign, but it was my first contract as second jockey of the Stable.The first jockey was Claudio Carudel.
I had offers from Rosales, Asturias and Mendoza Stable, but I decided to go with Rosales, after having spoken with my father.
My first race for the Rosales was with a horse called Regio with whom I won.Moreover it was a coincidence because I met Fulgencio de Diego in the Society who at that time was the trainer of the Rosales Stable and asked me if I I would like to ride in the apprentices race and If I wanted to ride Regio, it was incredible for me.
My father was going to San Sebastian , but he did not go, because he did not have many horses, he remained in Madrid and the Rosales asked me if I wanted to go San Sebastian on the condition I would ride Coloso in the Gold Cup with whom I was second in a photo finish for the first place, being beaten by Roman Martin with El Señor.
That same year I had a fall from a horse of the trainer Emilio Ceca, I was unconscious for two days and my father brought me to Madrid.
Altogheter, I was with Rosales a little more than two years, in the time of horses like Coloso, Sakara, Regio, Tucuman…..the first jockey being Claudio Carudel, where by I could not win any Group Race since I always wore the ribbon, though I was second in several Groups for them, Gold Cup, King´s Cup, Poule,…

I do not know with certainty.
In those years, I had a serious accident in Madrid with one of my father´s horses called Dueña, when we were teaching the horse to get out of the starting gates, he pushed the gate and jumped over the rails.
I broke the ligaments of my arm, the wrist and they operated my elbow and I was under medical control with an off work period for two months and a half
My first race after the fall was with Girasol, property of the Rosales Stable and I won with him but people started to say that I was afraid as I had been cured by mending the break with a metal pin and to criticize me a lot, and from morning to night, the trainer of the Rosales Stables did not want to talk with me.
He spoke with my father crying, telling him that he would like me to continue riding the horses of the Rosales Stable, and of what I am sure is that Fulgencio de Diego, had nothing to do with the decision to try to get rid of me

click to enlarge The Gold Cup of San Sebasian of 1978 He was the second with the horse Coloso with only 16 years old.

Claudio Carudel was really to blame, because I was improving a lot of and quickly as a jockey and Claudio lost many races, like the Poule, in which Roman Martin beat him with Avalancha and in that race I rode Sacara and Claudio rode Revellora.When I was going for the race, Claudio told me to stop and to wait for him, for him to come with me since I wore the ribbon and in the end Roman Martin passed between the two and won by half a length.
If he had not made me wait for him, that race would have been won by me.
There were many episodes like this because, Claudio, in spite of being a good jockey committed mistakes on many occasions and I was always to blame, and I believe that Claudio Carudel, had something to do in those decisions.

I learnt a lot and above all the responsibility of being in a stable like Rosales where we rode very great horses, because I was riding my father´s horses, who at that time did not have great horses and the majority were handicap horses.
Then, the installations which they had in the Venta de la Rubia, which were dedicated totally to the racing horses, were incredible

British people came here who wanted to take me to England to ride there, with a contract, but I did not go because I was very well and happy here.

click to enlarge 12/10/1989 "Cañal" ridden by Alberto Carrasco winning a Group I in Madrid.

I do not know.
The truth is that I have been criticized, also by people from the inside of the La Zarzuela Racecourse, like Angel Penna o Carlos Corvalán, specially in the apprentice time.
People said that I went out a lot, that I spent the money, when I gave everything to my father.Moreover I had my girlfriend and my friends, and having weight problems which I had I could scarcely go out because I could not eat or drink anything.
I do not know why, but the assistants did a lot of harm to those of us who were outstanding at that time in racing, like myself, at the time of Claudio Carudel , Roman Martin….. and we were criticized and I am sure that it was because they were not interested in the fact that those who were outstanding should get ahead.
Others say that to be the son of a trainer did not help me much.For instance, I have ridden for stables other than those of my father and I have been congratulated by the trainer for riding a horse well in a race, and the owner has refused to give me more horses, as it happened with the Asturias Stable in which, his trainer, Isidoro Gomez received instructions from the owner of the Asturias not to give me more mounts, although with a very bad mare of his with whom I finished the race placed amongst the first four.
Even the trainer thought that I had had some problem with the owner but I did not have anyone.

I had a verbal contract to be the first jockey with The Marquis of Cuellar at the time of Aqueronte, Estigia, Minerva….for one year and a half, and in the same way they stopped giving me more horses, and also in this case I cannot give the reason even though I asked the Marquis of Cuellar, but I never received any answer from him.

click to enlarge "Cullinan", ridden by Alberto Carrasco winning a Group I on 20/6/1993.

Yes, of course.Indeed, there were conversations suggesting that we should go on strike, but I would not go on strike to benefit them.They would not go on a strike to give a race for me, it was absurd.
I was in agreement with the facts that people from abroad came here to ride but I did not understand that after, the owners had been so careful with the money with us, as they were, and later they threw it away, paying what they paid to these jockeys and moreover I did not understand it with the good Spanish jockeys that there were in those years.
Here, the Urbano Family began to bring many jockeys from abroad, because I believe that they got a profit, and so they said if such a jockey rode a horse or in such a race, the possibility of winning was greater than if the horse was ridden by a Spanish jockey.
It is true that they rode more races, they had more tricks, experience and mischief but they also rode machines, but they lost the race, and they took the airplane to their country, they left us, and here nothing has happened.
For instance, I remembered when Bill Shoemaker came to ride to Madrid one day and won a race opening himself on the outside, a disastrous race, but he won, and on the television said that it was a tactic of Shoemaker in order to win the race, and truly, I was sorry to listen to those comments.
I, for example, when I won the Poule with Sherman for the trainer J.J.Ceca, he told me that "when you arrived to the straight, you open the horse on the outside, but on all outside", and he congratulated when the race finished, and on the contrary I was very criticized.There were owners who even addressed themselves to J.J.Ceca to criticize my ridding, he told them that those were the exact instructions, and he had to make a declarations in horse racing magazines in order to clarify the situation.

click to enlarge Alberto Carrasco with "Belicoso" in a hurdless race.

Of course, I remember Lester Piggott, who was incredible, he was like Roman Martin, but with more character still.What happens is that you did not ride fewer races than what they rode, and you did not have time to observe them much, because you have your way of riding, and they can play with a race, because if they made a mistake, nothing happened, they got off the horse, took the airplane and went to ride in another racecourse.
If I played everything in an important race, for example entering inside, and I did not find an empty space, I can lost the race, and I could assure you that I will not ride more because races like a Poule o Derby take place once in a lifetime.I tell you this clearly.

That always when I fell off in races, the jockey J.P.Martin was always by my side, in hurdles and flat races, and he always said, "again".And another jockey Castañeda, every time when he entered in the jockeys room I even threw him out, because I felt down, or something happened to me.He was a jinx.

To have a good weight, good gait sense, willpower, to want to learn, to say: I want to do this well and do it well and to have a lot of confidence in oneself. Going out to the course always with a lot faith even with horses with a small chance, I have found myself inspired…and I think I am going to win.
And to be a good hurdles jockey the same, and moreover, courage

You have more time to think in hurdles, and if a horse makes a mistake at a hurdle, you know that you can correct him in the following one, but it is much more difficult to ride in obstacle races.You have to measure the distance between each hurdle, and more when the horse are tired.

If I had a horse like one that I ride called Jacuzzi I would ride him without any doubt.

Because I did not ride at all in flat races.I had problems with an owner of my Stable and I went away.

click to enlarge Alberto with "El Cano"

I was working with the trainer J.Galdeano and J.J.Chavarrias, but I rode only at the morning, I did not ride in races and in that situation, I thought it was better to be with my father and do the morning work with his horses.
One day my father went to jump a horse, Belicoso, and he told me: "trot him", I trotted him and I told my father, Could I jump to the horse? He said but if you have never jumped….and this is the first time that I jumped with a horse.

My father started to have fewer horses and the problems with the Madrid Racecourse started.The people started to go away, professionals, trainers, jockeys, and grooms.I began to put on weight and I decided to retire.

I do not know.I would consider it if I had owners with vision for the future, otherwise not.

Thank you Alberto for your sincerity. It is always a pleasure to talk with you
Best wishes