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The Disappointers: Breeders’ Cup 2020 Jockeys to Avoid at the Windows

The Disappointers: Breeders’ Cup Jockeys to Avoid at the Windows

Second in a series of stories on jockeys and their performances in the Breeders’ Cup, set for Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.

By Noel Michaels

Handicapping the Breeders’ Cup is a complex puzzle with so many variables. We must weigh factors such as speed, pace, trainers, current form, and much more, in order to come up with selections in every Breeders’ Cup race.

However, no matter how well a horse is prepared and how well the horse has been spotted, once the bell rings and the gates open, it’s just the horses and their jockeys who are ultimately responsible for the outcome — and whether or not you will cash your bets or tear up your tickets.

Inspector Lynley-Jose Ortiz – US Racing Photo

Some jockeys do better than others on the big stage. Is the jockey of the horse you are considering betting on experienced and a proven winner of Breeders’ Cup races?  If not, perhaps it’s a reason to start looking elsewhere.

Here’s a look at some jockeys with disappointing Breeders’ Cup records:

For starters, check out Joe Talamo.  He has been a Breeders’ Cup fail with a record of 1-for-38, with one second place. That’s 2-for-38 in the exacta. Not good.

Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza has had some high-profile mounts in recent years, including American Pharoah, but in the Breeders’ Cup he is 3-for-63.

RELATED: Breeders’ Cup 2020 Brings Racing World Together Amid Pandemic

Veteran jockey

 just earned a high-profile win in the Preakness (G1) aboard filly Swiss Skydiver, who will be one of the more popular bets in either the Distaff or Classic. Albarado’s record says he can’t be counted on to deliver in the Breeders’ Cup based on his 3-for-42 record, win zero wins since 2011.

Among other riders not getting the job done at the Breeders’ Cup are Rafael Bejarano (5-for-86); and Julien Leparoux (7-for-82) but winless since 2016.

There will be a lot of attention on Luis Saez, who is 0-for-22 in Breeders’ Cup races but will have quite a few good chances this time. In addition to being aboard Maximum Security in the $6 million Classic, Saez also has the mounts on top contenders Leinster in the Turf Sprint, Essential Quality in the Juvenile, Simply Ravishing in the Juvenile Fillies, Mutasaabeq in the Juvenile Turf, and Valiance in the Distaff.

Finally, most handicappers put Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. on nearly equal footing in many aspects, as the brothers annually battle for Belmont and Saratoga riding titles and the Eclipse Award. However, the pair has been anything but equal in terms of the Breeders’ Cup.

Irad has already had big Breeders’ Cup success in his career, while Jose has been a BC disappointment with three wins from 50 starters, all in juvenile races (Oscar Performance in 2016 Juvenile Turf, Good Magic in 2017 Juvenile, and Structor in 2019 Juvenile Turf).

The Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland is Nov. 6-7.

Breeders’ Cup list of top purse-earning jockeys, and their records in BC races

Name
Starters
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Money Won
Mike E. Smith
145
26
16
8
10
19
9
$36,634,605.00
John R. Velazquez
187
16
17
22
14
13
10
$27,760,275.00
Lanfranco Dettori
105
14
6
9
12
14
10
$24,751,862.00
Pat Day
117
12
17
11
9
11
11
$23,033,360.00
Jerry D. Bailey
102
26
12
14
6
8
6
$22,006,440.00
Garrett K. Gomez
83
13
12
9
7
9
5
$20,365,600.00
Gary L. Stevens
123
11
18
13
7
15
12
$20,309,255.00
Joel Rosario
111
11
11
18
11
7
8
$20,202,535.00
Javier Castellano
118
12
11
15
10
6
13
$19,507,600.00
Chris J. McCarron
101
9
12
7
7
7
13
$17,669,600.00
Ryan L. Moore
70
9
6
5
10
4
2
$14,997,035.00
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
53
9
5
4
8
4
1
$13,580,345.00
Corey S. Nakatani
90
10
10
12
8
6
5
$13,268,980.00
Kent J. Desormeaux
98
6
5
8
17
7
7
$10,730,515.000
Julien R. Leparoux
82
7
7
6
9
9
8
$10,718,150.00
Ramon A. Dominguez
49
3
9
6
6
5
2
$9,616,850.00
Edgar S. Prado
75
5
9
8
4
9
5
$9,609,180.00
Victor Espinoza
63
3
6
3
3
3
6
$8,901,200.00
Jose A. Santos
65
7
2
4
6
9
5
$8,008,800.00
Alex O. Solis
74
3
8
5
10
10
9
$7,933,960.00
Eddie J. Delahoussaye
68
7
3
6
9
8
6
$7,775,000.00
Martin Garcia
29
4
2
0
2
0
2
$7,160,000.00
Florent Geroux
19
5
1
0
2
3
1
$6,965,345.00
Laffit A. Pincay, Jr.
61
7
4
9
5
3
6
$6,811,000.00
Patrick A. Valenzuela
59
7
1
4
9
9
5
$6,649,930.00
Rafael Bejarano
86
5
4
7
7
7
13
$6,515,150.00
Flavien Prat
38
3
6
8
3
4
3
$6,335,345.00
Robby Albarado
42
3
3
1
3
7
2
$6,265,050.00
Angel Cordero, Jr.
48
4
7
7
1
6
8
$6,020,000.00
Jose L. Ortiz
50
3
6
3
7
6
3
$5,710,690.00
Olivier Peslier
27
4
2
2
0
2
0
$5,341,000.00
Cornelio H. Velasquez
30
5
1
0
1
3
4
$5,163,100.00
Michael J. Kinane
31
3
3
4
1
3
6
$4,948,520.00
David Romero Flores
38
3
3
4
2
3
2
$4,146,800.00
Jose Lezcano
26
3
3
2
1
1
4
$4,089,000.00
Shane J. Sellers
29
2
3
4
3
1
0
$3,960,600.00
John Patrick Murtagh
30
3
4
0
4
5
2
$3,873,420.00
Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
13
1
2
1
1
0
3
$3,820,000.00
Pat Eddery
30
2
3
3
1
2
1
$3,570,000.00
Jorge F. Chavez
40
2
2
1
4
1
6
$3,488,640.00
Jorge Velasquez
18
2
5
1
1
0
1
$3,353,000.00
Craig Perret
31
4
2
1
2
1
4
$3,205,000.00
William T. Buick
20
2
3
1
0
4
1
$3,148,000.00
Seamus Heffernan
10
1
2
1
0
1
0
$2,921,035.00
Mario Gutierrez
27
2
1
0
1
2
3
$2,870,690.00
A. R. Napravnik
11
2
2
0
1
0
1
$2,840,000.00
Fernando Jara
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
$2,700,000.00
Kieren Fallon
21
2
2
2
1
2
1
$2,653,800.00
Joseph Patrick O’Brien
5
1
0
2
1
0
0
$2,537,000.00
Rajiv Maragh
21
4
0
2
1
1
5
$2,446,000.00
Mickael Barzalona
4
1
0
0
0
0
1
$2,250,000.00
William Shoemaker
14
1
2
2
1
1
2
$2,226,000.00
Joseph Talamo
38
1
1
5
1
6
3
$2,159,975.00
Jamie P. Spencer
25
0
3
3
1
2
0
$2,153,900.00
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
18
1
1
0
4
2
1
$2,020,000.00
Paco Lopez
15
1
2
2
2
1
1
$1,950,000.00
Alan Garcia
26
1
1
3
1
3
4
$1,941,200.00
Thomas P. Queally
5
1
1
1
0
0
1
$1,935,000.00
Joe Bravo
21
1
0
1
5
1
3
$1,871,000.00
Calvin H. Borel
22
1
1
2
3
0
1
$1,847,428.00
Christophe Soumillon
10
1
0
1
0
0
1
$1,725,600.00
Walter R. Swinburn
19
1
1
1
1
2
4
$1,714,000.00
Rene R. Douglas
15
1
0
1
2
2
0
$1,670,000.00
Randy P. Romero
17
3
0
1
0
3
2
$1,648,000.00
Eddie Castro
5
1
1
0
0
0
0
$1,623,800.00
Eibar Coa
18
1
0
0
2
3
2
$1,556,385.00
Luis Saez
22
0
2
1
1
0
3
$1,450,345.00

Source: Breeders’ Cup

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