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. 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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