Meet the jockeys: In the 150th Kentucky Derby, one of these riders will make history

mark story

Thu, May 2, 2024, 6:00 a.m.·8 min read

For the jockeys contesting the 2024 Kentucky Derby on Saturday evening at Churchill Downs, there is a little something extra at stake.

This year’s Run for the Roses is the 150th renewal of North America’s marquee horse race. The jockey who wins will join a select group of riders who earned victory in “numerical milestone” runnings of the Derby.

Jockey Oliver Lewis won the first Kentucky Derby in 1876 aboard Aristides.

J.D. Mooney rode Black Gold to the win in the 50th Derby in 1924.

Angel Cordero Jr. guided Cannonade to victory in the 100th Run for the Roses in 1974.

On Saturday, one of the 20 jockeys listed below will join this list by riding the winning horse in Derby 150.

Here is what you need to know about each rider (jockeys are listed in alphabetical order) in Saturday’s race:

Junior Alvarado

▪ Horse: Resilience (Post No. 18)

▪ Trainer: Bill Mott

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Four prior Derby mounts. Best finish of fourth, on Mohaymen, came in jockey’s first Kentucky Derby in 2016.

▪ Did you know? A native of Venezuela, Alvarado, 37, was the regular rider on Cody’s Wish, the fan favorite who was the winner of both the 2022 and 2023 Breeders’ Cup Mile races.

Jockey Junior Alvarado rode Cody’s Wish (3) to the horse’s second-straight victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year at Santa Anita Park.

Keith Asmussen

▪ Horse: Just Steel (Post No. 6)

▪ Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Derby.

▪ Did you know? At 5-foot-10, Asmussen, 25, is quite tall for a jockey. He is the son of trainer Steve Asmussen and the nephew of former champion jockey Cash Asmussen.

Adam Beschizza

▪ Horse: Epic Ride (Post No. 20)

▪ Trainer: Jeff Ennis

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Finished seventh aboard Enforceable in 2020.

▪ Did you know? A native of Cambridgeshire County, England, Beschizza, 31, won his first race as a jockey at Wolverhampton Racecourse in the United Kingdom in 2010 on a horse, Bavarica, trained by his aunt, Julia Feilden.

Jesus Castanon

▪ Horse: West Saratoga (Post No. 12)

▪ Trainer: Larry Demeritte

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Finished fourth on Shackleford in 2011.

▪ Did you know? The Mexico City, Mexico, native, 51, won the 2011 Preakness aboard Shackleford. Castanon is from a family of horsemen — and women. His late father was a trainer, his brothers Tony and Jose are also jockeys. His wife, the former Rolanda Simpson, is a trainer and ex-jockey.

Ben Curtis

▪ Horse: Honor Marie (Post No. 7)

▪ Trainer: Whit Beckman

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Derby.

▪ Did you know? A native of County Cork, Ireland, Curtis, 34, will be riding in the Kentucky Derby only six months after moving his tack from England to the United States to compete at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

Frankie Dettori

▪ Horse: Society Man (Post No. 19)

▪ Trainer: Danny Gargan

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Finished sixth in 2000 on China Visit.

▪ Did you know? The Milan, Italy, native, 53, is described in Great Britain as “the most famous jockey in the world.” Dettori has won races in at least 24 different countries and has won the Epsom Derby twice, on Authorized in 2007 and Golden Horn in 2015.

Frankie Dettori rode Imagination to victory in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 3. Dettori, arguably the world’s most famous jockey, has won races in at least 24 different countries.

Antonio Fresu

▪ Horse: Stronghold (Post No. 17)

▪ Trainer: Philip D’Amato

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Derby.

▪ Did you know? An Italian, Fresu, 32, is another for whom being a jockey is the family business. He told The Blood-Horse in 2023 that his father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been riders.

Tyler Gaffalione

▪ Horse: Sierra Leone (Post No. 2)

▪ Trainer: Chad Brown

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Six. Only top-10 finish was seventh in 2019 on War of Will.

▪ Did you know? A product of Davie, Florida, Gaffalione, 29, won the 2019 Preakness Stakes aboard War of Will. Gaffalione has won the riding title at Churchill Downs in 11 different racing meets.

In the 150th Kentucky Derby, jockey Tyler Gaffalione hopes to duplicate the victory he scored in the 100th edition of Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland aboard Sierra Leone.

Florent Geroux

▪ Horse: Just a Touch (Post No. 8)

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Seven. Was aboard designated winner Mandaloun, whose 2021 Derby victory came after the on-the-track victor, Medina’s Spirit, was disqualified.

▪ Did you know? A native of Argentan, Normandy, France, Geroux, 37, has won eight Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2017 Classic aboard Gunrunner and the 2018 and 2020 Distaff, both on Monomoy Girl.

Brian Hernandez

▪ Horse: Mystik Dan (Post No. 3)

▪ Trainer: Kenny McPeek

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Four, with top finish of eighth in 2019 on McCracken.

▪ Did you know? A product of Lafayette, Louisiana, Hernandez, 38, won the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Fort Larned. The win came on the jockey’s 27th birthday.

Emisael Jaramillo

▪ Horse: Grand Mo the First (Post No. 15)

▪ Trainer: Victor Barboza Jr.

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Was 18th in 2016 on Majesto.

▪ Did you know? A native of Tucupido, Guarico, Venezuela, Jaramillo, 47, came to the United States to ride full time in 2015. Before leaving Venezuela, Jaramillo was the country’s leading rider 13 times.

Kazushi Kimura

▪ Horse: T O Password (Post No. 9)

▪ Trainer: Daisuke Takayanagi

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Finished 12th last year on Mandarin Hero.

▪ Did you know? Though a native of Hokkaido, Japan, Kimura, 24, has made his name as a rider in Canada. In 2018, he won the Sovereign Award as Canada’s outstanding apprentice jockey and in 2021 , 2022 and 2023, he was the Sovereign Award winner as outstanding jockey.

Julien Leparoux

▪ Horse: Catalytic (Post No. 5)

▪ Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Has ridden in 14 prior Derbys with a best finish of fourth aboard Classic Empire in 2017.

▪ Did you know? Though closing in on 3,000 career wins, Leparoux, 40, has yet to win a Triple Crown race. The native of Senlis, France, has finished second twice in the Preakness, however, aboard Macho Again (2008) and Classic Empire (2017).

Jockey Julien Leparoux, center, has ridden in the Kentucky Derby 14 times without finishing in the top three.

Irad Ortiz Jr.

▪ Horse: Domestic Product (Post No. 14)

▪ Trainer: Chad Brown

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Seven with a top finish of fourth aboard Improbable in 2019.

▪ Did you know? A product of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Ortiz, 31, has led North American jockeys in wins for seven years straight and in earnings for five out of six years. Ortiz has won two Triple Crown races, claiming the Belmont Stakes on Creator in 2016 and Mo Donegal in 2022. He has won 20 Breeders’ Cup races.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Forte to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland in 2022.

Flavien Prat

▪ Horse: Catching Freedom (Post No. 4)

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: In six prior Derbys, Prat’s horses have finished on the board five times. Was aboard designated Kentucky Derby winner Country House in 2019 after the on-the-track victor, Maximum Security, was disqualified by stewards for interfering with other horses around the final turn.

▪ Did you know? Prat, 31, was the rider on 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline for all six of his career races, all wins, including the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. A native of Melun, France, Prat has five career Breeders’ Cup wins.

Umberto Rispoli

▪ Horse: Endlessly (Post No. 13)

▪ Trainer: Michael McCarthy

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Finished 14th on Brooklyn Strong in 2021.

▪ Did you know: Rispoli, a native of San Severino Marche, Italy, was a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club until December 2019, when he moved his tack to Southern California. Now 35, Rispoli won riding championships in his native Italy in 2009 and 2010.

Joel Rosario

▪ Horse: Track Phantom (Post No. 11)

▪ Trainer: Steve Asmussen

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Ridden in 12 prior Derbys, with a win in 2013 aboard Orb and a second in 2022 on Epicenter.

▪ Did you know? A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Rosario, 39, has been elected into the 2024 induction class of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In his career, Rosario has over 3,600 wins, including three Triple Crown victories and 15 Breeders’ Cup wins.

Joel Rosario will try for his second career Kentucky Derby victory with Track Phantom.

Luis Saez

▪ Horse: Dornoch (Post No. 1)

▪ Trainer: Danny Gargan

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: Ten. Was aboard the on-the-track winner, Maximum Security, in 2019 but the horse was disqualified and placed 17th by stewards due to interference. Finished third on Essential Quality in 2021.

▪ Did you know? A native of Panama City, Panama, Saez, 31, won the 2021 Belmont Stakes and the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, both aboard Essential Quality.

Maximum Security’s jockey Luis Saez and trainer Jason Servis waited to see if the stewards would disqualify their colt, who had crossed the finish line first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby Maximum Security was disqualified and placed 17th.

Ryusei Sakai

▪ Horse: Forever Young (Post No. 10)

▪ Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Derby.

▪ Did you know? Considered one of the rising riding stars in Japan, Sakai, 26, was slated to ride in his first Kentucky Derby last year. However the Tokyo native’s Derby mount, Continuar, was scratched.

John Velazquez

▪ Horse: Fierceness (Post No. 16)

▪ Trainer: Todd Pletcher

▪ Past Kentucky Derby rides: In 25 prior Derbys, Velazquez has won three times — Animal Kingdom (2011), Always Dreaming (2017) and Authentic (2020). He lost a fourth Kentucky Derby victory when Medina Spirit (2021) was disqualified over an illegal substance found in the horse’s post-race blood test after winning on the track.

▪ Did you know? In riding in his 26th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, Velazquez, 52, will tie Bill Shoemaker for the second-most rides in the Run for the Roses. Only Mike Smith (28) has ridden in the Kentucky Derby more often.