J. Keith Desormeaux

J. Keith Desormeaux (born c. 1967) is a horse trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He is the brother of jockey Kent Desormeaux and trainer of 2016 Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator.

Desormeaux was born in Maurice, Louisiana, part of Louisiana's Cajun region. His brother, Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux Keith was named John Keith in honor of one of his mother's siblings. Harris Desormeaux owned Acadiana Downs, a "bush track". As children Keith and Kent showed ponies in 4-H competition, played basketball, and the brothers attempted their first collaboration at a race at Acadiana Downs when Keith was 18 and Kent 15, but did not win.

Keith Desormeaux originally wanted to become a veterinarian, He began his training career in the 1980s in Maryland, first working with other trainers such as Charlie Hadry, and then opening his own training stable in 1991, though he had raced horses under his own name as early as 1988. Kent had been very successful in Maryland and encouraged Keith to come there to work.

Desormeaux struggled throughout his career to team up with owners able to purchase the highest-quality horses. His break came when he met Matt Bryan, an oilman who owned Big Chief Racing Stables. Desormeaux finally came to national attention in 2013 in winning the Risen Star Stakes with Bryan's horse I've Struck a Nerve, a 135–1 longshot, the biggest upset in the history of the race. Desormeaux stated at the time, "I can sit here and tell you I'm a good trainer, but I can't make a slow horse fast. When you've got a little bit of money behind the horse power you can see what happens." It was his first graded stakes win. And that same year teamed up with brother Kent to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Texas Red.

In 2015, Desormeaux began sending out horses who challenged Nyquist, the 2015 American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. In the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he sent out two horses, Swipe and Exaggerator, who finished second and fourth to Nyquist. and had also challenged Nyquist again two more times, including in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, where he finished second, each time closing his rival by an ever-narrower margin until finally defeating Nyquist at the 2016 Preakness Stakes.

Desormeaux has a son. Since 2010, his significant other has been Julie Clark, who worked with polo ponies for 20 years before becoming a racehorse trainer. She both manages Desormeaux's horses when they are away from their home base and assists with his overall training operation.