Watch: 5 questions for hot rider Manny Franco

Manny Franco is the leading jockey at Aqueduct’s current meet, with 13 wins from 31 starts – including six of seven on Friday. He won nine graded stakes last year and has 1,810 career wins with earnings of $122,917,032.

Horse Racing Nation’s Andrew Capone caught up with the hot rider for a “five questions” video this week.

Among the topics Capone and Franco discussed was how he became a jockey – a move his mom wasn’t happy about, though she supported him once the decision was made.

Franco also talked about how he gets ready before a race and whether any of his mounts are his favorite. He said he is fortunate to ride for many barns and was reluctant to pick a favorite, but a special ride was Tiz the Law’s victory in the 2020 Belmont Stakes.

Winning a Triple Crown race was a “dream come true,” he said, though “there’s still a lot of things I want to do in the future.”

One of those things is winning a Kentucky Derby, of course. He finished second with Tiz the Law in 2020. “Finishing second “was good, but it was heartbreaking at the same time.”

Franco is a regular rider in New York, and he won the Travers (G1) with Tiz the Law in addition to the Belmont. But there’s one New York race that’s still among his top goals.

Away from the track, Franco is a big baseball and basketball fan. His favorite teams? Well, only one of them is in the Big Apple.