Who is the Best Jockey of 2015?
Who is the best jockey in North America in 2015, and who will win the 2015 Eclipse Award as the top jockey? With the year coming to a close, there have been discussions popping up on social media platforms about this year’s jockeys. Will the 2015 Eclipse Award recognize the best jockey, or the rider that captured the most attention in the national media? With one month left in 2015, let’s take a look at the accomplishments of the four most likely candidates (listed alphabetically).
312 wins – rank #1
45 graded stakes wins
17 grade one wins
11 grade two wins
17 grade three wins
2 Breeders’ Cup wins
$27,041,793 purse money – rank #1
Castellano won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 2013 and 2014. As you will see Javier towers over the other three jockeys statistically. He won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile with a skilled and courageous ride when the other jockeys forced Liam’s Map to have a troubled trip. The Met Mile win from far behind with Honor Code was one of the most thrilling finishes of the year. Javier won almost as many grade one stakes as the other three jockeys combined. He won six of his 17 grade ones at Saratoga. Big races like the Travers, Whitney, Met Mile, Woodward, and Donn Handicap are part of his 2015 riding resume.
88 wins – rank #100+
19 graded stakes wins
10 grade one wins
6 grade two wins
3 grade three wins
1 Breeders’ Cup win
3 Triple Crown race wins
$16,642,683 purse money – rank #6
Espinoza did what no other jockey had done in the past 37 years; win the Triple Crown. He topped that feat by adding the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the newly created Grand Slam of thoroughbred racing. All of those accolades came because of American Pharoah, the 2015 Horse of the Year.
Herein lies a major point in the top jockey debate. After Pharoah won the Triple Crown it became a foregone conclusion that he would be named Horse of the Year. Some feel that Espinoza deserves the Eclipse Award for having been the Triple Crown winning jockey. The history books don’t agree with this premise. The previous three Triple Crown jockeys did NOT win the Eclipse Award. In 1978 it was not Steve Cauthen, but it was Darrell McHargue. In 1977 the Eclipse went to Cauthen and not Seattle Slew’s Jean Cruget and in 1973 all of the immortal Secretariat’s accomplishments were not enough for Ron Turcotte to beat out Laffit Pincay Jr. This is, however, the 21st century and Espinoza’s accomplishments have been in social media practically every day since he and Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby.
277 wins – rank #4
20 graded stakes wins
6 grade one wins
7 grade two wins
7 grade three wins
1 Breeders’ Cup win
$23,350,884 purse money – rank #2
Young rider, Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been battling with Castellano for riding titles in New York all year long. Ortiz won the coveted Saratoga title, beating Castellano by 3 wins. Castellano’s edge over Ortiz in wins for the year is due to his domination in the Gulfstream Park winter championship meeting. This year Ortiz won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf with Stephanie’s Kitten. As Chad Brown’s number one rider, Ortiz has been equally adept on the grass and main track. Four of his six grade one wins came on the turf.
183 wins – rank #22
29 graded stakes wins
10 grade one wins
6 grade two wins
13 grade three wins
0 Breeders’ Cup wins
$19,912,007 purse money – rank #3
Hall of Fame rider Velazquez won the Outstanding Jockey Eclipse in 2004 and 2005 and in recent years he has become more selective about the mounts that he takes. Johnny V. is equally adept on the grass and the dirt and as Todd Pletcher’s main rider he has to be good riding two-year-olds as well as older horses. His talent has not diminished over the years as was evident with his perfectly timed ride on Tonalist in the Cigar Mile to win the latest of his 10 grade one stakes in 2015.