Fair Grounds: Which jockeys offer the best value?

Photo: Scott Serio / Eclipse Sportswire

With Fair Grounds opening Thursday, we looked at jockey statistics from the 2024-25 meet to identify key trends.

Jose Ortiz dominated the meet with 97 wins from 340 starts, a 28.5% win rate and a negative 1.1% HRN impact percentage, indicating he was slightly favored by bettors.

Jareth Loveberry was second with 55 wins, posting a 14.3% win rate and a Horse Racing Nation impact percentage of 7.3%.

Ben Curtis posted 49 victories with a 17.5% win rate and a 13.1% HRN impact. Mitchell Murrill finished with 41 wins at an 11.7% win clip with a slightly negative -0.2% HRN impact.

Jockey Starts Wins Win % HRN
impact
Jose Ortiz 340 97 28.5% -1.1%
Jareth Loveberry 384 55 14.3%  7.3%
Ben Curtis 280 49 17.5% 13.1%
Mitchell Murrill 349 41 11.7% -0.2%
Edgar Morales 235 38 16.2% 13.0%
Brian Hernandez Jr. 184 38 20.7% 23.5%
Marcelino Pedroza Jr. 321 38 11.8% -8.6%
C.J. McMahon 254 31 12.2% 11.2%
Axel Concepcion 264 31 11.7% -11.5%
Florent Geroux 151 30 19.9%  -1.8%
Jaime Torres 277 30 10.8% -15.7%
Colby Hernandez 163 22 13.5% 34.2%
Jose Guerrero 203 21 10.3% -6.6%

2024 main-track winners look to keep momentum going 

Jose Ortiz led the dirt standings with 66 wins and a 28.9% win rate. His performance fell slightly below expectations with a negative 2.6% HRN impact.

Ben Curtis stood out on dirt with 37 wins from 177 starts, a 20.9% win rate and a positive 21.2% HRN impact. Mitchell Murrill posted 32 wins that nearly matched expectations with a negative 0.8% HRN impact.

Jareth Loveberry topped dirt starts with 265 rides. He had 31 wins for an 11.7% win rate but underperformed expectations with a negative 13.4% HRN impact.

Edgar Morales delivered 29 wins from 158 starts, an 18.4% win rate and a positive 17.5% HRN impact. Brian Hernandez impressed with 26 wins from 106 starts, a 24.5% win rate and a positive 28.5% HRN impact.

Jockey Dirt
starts
Dirt
wins
Win % HRN
impact
Jose Ortiz 228 66 28.9%   -2.6%
Ben Curtis 177 37 20.9% 21.2%
Mitchell Murrill 251 32 12.7%   -0.8%
Jareth Loveberry 265 31 11.7% -13.4%
Edgar Morales 158 29 18.4% 17.5%
Marcelino Pedroza Jr. 246 27 11.0% -20.8%
C.J. McMahon 194 27 13.9% 15.5%
Jaime Torres 193 26 13.5%   -6.9%
Brian Hernandez Jr. 106 26 24.5% 28.5%
Axel Concepcion 180 22 12.2% -14.5%
Florent Geroux   87 21 24.1% 11.4%
Jose Guerrero 153 18 11.8%   -7.6%
Colby Hernandez 109 18 16.5% 34.8%
James Graham 128 17 13.3% 19.8%
Kylie Wellington 118 14 11.9% 41.2%
Jeiron Barbosa 142 12 8.5% -22.8%
Declan Cannon 66   9 13.6%     2.4%
Aubrie Green 89   9 10.1%   13.1%
David Cohen 91   9 9.9% -15.0%
Timothy Thornton 44   8 18.2%   24.4%

Turf specialists emerge from crowded field

Jose Ortiz dominated turf racing with 31 wins from 112 starts for a 27.7% win rate. His performance edged above expectations with a 2.5% HRN impact. Jareth Loveberry posted 23 wins for a 19.3% win rate, delivering significant value with a 58.1% HRN impact.

Brian Hernandez Jr. notched 12 wins from 78 starts for a 13.7% HRN impact. Ben Curtis matched Hernandez in wins with 12 from but posted a negative 6.1% HRN impact.

Marcelino Pedroza Jr. found success on the grass with 11 wins and an impressive 47.4% HRN impact despite a 14.7% win rate.

Several jockeys with limited turf opportunities posted strong numbers. Florent Geroux posted nine wins, but fell below expectations with a negative 23.1% HRN impact. Axel Concepcion also had nine wins for a 10.7% win rate and a negative 3.1% HRN impact.

Jockey Turf
starts
Turf
wins
Win % HRN
impact
Jose Ortiz 112 31 27.7%     2.5%
Jareth Loveberry 119 23 19.3%    58.1%
Brian Hernandez Jr.   78 12 15.4%    13.7%
Ben Curtis 103 12 11.7%    -6.1%
Marcelino Pedroza Jr.   75 11 14.7%    47.4%
Mitchell Murrill   98   9   9.2%      1.8%
Axel Concepcion   84   9 10.7%     -3.1%
Edgar Morales   77   9 11.7%      0.7%
Florent Geroux   64   9 14.1%   -23.1%
Declan Cannon   61   8 13.1%    20.3%
Jeiron Barbosa   67   5   7.5%      5.6%
C.J. McMahon   60   4   6.7%   -11.0%
Colby Hernandez   54   4   7.4%    31.3%
Jaime Torres   84   4   4.8%   -47.8%
Jose Guerrero   50   3   6.0%      0.4%
Aubrie Green   23   2   8.7%    -7.5%
James Graham   76   2   2.6%  -66.5%
Kylie Wellington   31 2   6.5%   89.0%
Timothy Thornton   21 1   4.8%  -36.8%
Erica Murray   12 1   8.3% 138.3%

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