One year ago, on Jan. 7, 2025, Mario and Rebecca Gutierrez gathered up their 8-year-old son Sebastian, two dogs, two cats, and what clothes they could grab, then fled their home in the densely populated suburban Los Angeles town of Altadena, Calif., as the Eaton Fire raged around them.
Before the nightmare had ended, the Gutierrez home was among 9,000 structures lost. It took 24 days for the fire to be fully contained after consuming 14,000 acres and taking 19 lives. Across town, the Palisades Fire exacted a similar toll: some 6,800 structures, 23,000 acres, a dozen deaths.
That was how the year began.
One year later, the Gutierrez family has established roots in Louisville, Ky. Mario Gutierrez, a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1), spent the spring, summer and fall riding at regional tracks, while Rebecca, an interior designer, set up a new home for the family, and Sebastian made new friends.
Now dad's away in Florida, competing at the Gulfstream Park meet, where Gutierrez has knocked off three wins, two seconds, and three thirds in 17 mounts through the first nine days of the new year.
"My plan was to stay in Kentucky," Gutierrez said this week. "People were starting to notice me and give me more opportunities, especially the last couple months of the meet at Churchill Downs."
Then trainer Brian Lynch threw a tempting wrench into the plan, suggesting that Gutierrez should follow the stable to South Florida. The rider weighed his options, secured Gulfstream agent Jordan Berman, and hit the road.
"I did a complete U-turn," Gutierrez said. "I know it was a big ask for my family. And, yes, it was a little bit scary, especially after what happened a year ago. But I believe in my skills, I dig in, and I put in the work. Good things can come after.
"Sometimes I feel like we need a little push from life," Gutierrez said. "At the time you might not think so, but I very strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. People might think that getting your house burned down might be a little harsh, but you never know what life has in store."
More than anything, Gutierrez, 39, has been anxious to prove that he is more than a one-stable jockey. After a successful apprenticeship in Mexico City and Vancouver, British Columbia, the native of El Higo, a tiny town in the state of Veracruz in Mexico, descended upon Southern California in 2011 and landed a choice role in the barn of Doug O'Neill riding for owner Paul Reddam. One year later, Gutierrez won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (G1) with Reddam's I'll Have Another.
In 2015, Guiterrez won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) with Reddam's Nyquist , then parlayed that to a second Kentucky Derby win the following spring. It had been 118 years since a jockey had won with his first two Derby mounts. Gutierrez continued to ride primarily for Reddam, to the extent that in recent years his business beyond his primary commitment began to dry up.
"I've always been a hard worker, but I guess people didn't notice that about me, staying with the same outfit for the longest part of my career like I did," he said. "I've been very happy to show that hard work was not foreign to me. Anyway, it wasn't like I was a hot commodity, so it does feel a little bit like starting over."
Lynch has come through, as promised, with a collection of live Gulfstream mounts.
"I didn't know him before we were introduced last April," Gutierrez said. "I've been around this sport now for a long time to be able to notice certain things that only what I consider amazing trainers do, and he definitely is one of them."
The Lynch-Gutierrez combo is on a roll with the Munnings filly Sister Troienne, owned by Woodslane Racing. Sister Troienne has won four of five starts, including the $155,000 Ginger Brew Stakes Jan. 3 at a mile on firm Gulfstream turf. Sister Troienne was heavily favored, but even as hunch bets go, she was a slam dunk, since Lynch trained Ginger Brew to win four minor stakes, including the 2008 Calder Oaks, and finish second in the 2008 Queen's Plate Stakes at Woodbine.
"I started working her at Ellis Park," Gutierrez said of Sister Troienne. "We ran her on the dirt there first time out, then came back and won on the grass. She hasn't been beaten since. I just think she's the kind of filly I team up with great, and I don't think I've asked the best from her yet."
Sticking close to Lynch is a good idea. In recent years, he has had early success with such young horses as Owen Almighty, Oscar Performance , and Classic Causeway.
"In our sport, you're always one morning away from getting on a horse that could change your life," Gutierrez said. "So, I don't discard the possibility of this year getting on a 2-year-old that is going to excite me for the future. Right now is probably the happiest I've ever been in my career."
What a difference a year makes. As sunny as he sounds, Gutierrez does not minimize the trauma of losing a home to a natural disaster of monumental proportions.
"We felt very humbled by what happened," he said. "My entire block was wiped out, maybe 500 homes in my area. We cleaned up what was left, and I'm planning to rebuild. We hope to start construction in mid-year, once we get through all the red tape for the permits. I think we're going to keep it like it used to be, with maybe a couple of additions. But I'm sure my wife will come up with something beautiful."
So much for the house. How about the family, especially young Sebastian?
"For a lot of people after such a tragedy, it's hard to look at the positives," Gutierrez said. "I thank God that's he's given us such a strong little boy to deal with what we were going through. As soon as we moved and put him in school, he started making good friends. I think of the three of us, he's the one who loves Kentucky the most. He comes home from school, does his homework, then plays with his friends in a neighborhood that is very safe. They go from house to house, come to our place. He's made a beautiful transition.
"For Rebecca, it was a little harder," he said. "But it's getting better all the time. We don't want to move Sebastian again, so they will stay in Kentucky while I'm in Florida, and I'll visit as much as possible.
"As for this week, it was hard to let the day pass, because January 7 is also the date we were married, 10 years ago," Gutierrez said, accompanied by a sardonic laugh. "Except for the first couple of years, we've always been horrible remembering our anniversary. Every year it's a joke between us as to who remembers it first.
"We had to be apart this year because I was riding," he added. "But I don't think we'll ever forget it again."
