Tampa Bay jockeys: Who offers the best value for bettors?
Looking at Tampa Bay Downs jockey statistics from the 2024 meet, clear leaders emerge ahead of the 2025 season, which begins Wednesday. Samuel Marin topped the standings with 115 wins from 558 starts, posting a 20.6% win rate and a Horse Racing Nation impact percentage of 1.9%.
Samy Camacho finished with 105 wins and demonstrated strong value with a 10.2% HRN impact, outperforming expectations on his mounts at a 22.5% win clip.
Jose Ferrer and Cipriano Gil posted standout HRN impact numbers among the top 10 riders. Ferrer recorded a 26.6% HRN impact with 49 wins, and Gil achieved 26.7% HRN impact with 32 victories.
Sara Hess maintained a 9.3% win rate with an impressive 29.8% HRN impact percentage, consistently delivering above her odds.
| Jockey | Starts | Wins | Win % | HRN impact % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Marin | 558 | 115 | 20.6% | 1.9% |
| Samy Camacho | 467 | 105 | 22.5% | 10.2% |
| Jose Ferrer | 295 | 49 | 16.6% | 26.6% |
| Antonio Gallardo | 269 | 44 | 16.4% | -9.1% |
| Sonny Leon | 365 | 41 | 11.2% | -5.6% |
| Daniel Centeno | 220 | 33 | 15.0% | 1.1% |
| Cipriano Gil | 231 | 32 | 13.9% | 26.7% |
| Marcos Meneses | 282 | 31 | 11.0% | -5.2% |
| Hector Diaz | 240 | 30 | 12.5% | -2.9% |
| Sara Hess | 312 | 29 | 9.3% | 29.8% |
Samuel Marin leads on main track
Samuel Marin dominated the main track with 80 wins for a 22.4% win rate. His dirt performance showed positive momentum with a 7.3% HRN impact, suggesting good value on the dirt.
Samy Camacho recorded 66 wins on dirt but performed as expected with a slightly negative -0.7% HRN impact. Sonny Leon improved significantly on dirt compared to his overall numbers, posting 34 wins with a 9.2% HRN impact.
Several jockeys showed strong dirt-specific results despite lower overall win totals. Jose Ferrer's dirt numbers included a solid 18.5% HRN impact, and Sara Hess posted an impressive 32.0% impact on the main track with 24 victories.
| Jockey | Dirt starts |
Dirt wins |
Win % | HRN impact % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Marin | 357 | 80 | 22.4% | 7.3% |
| Samy Camacho | 313 | 66 | 21.1% | -0.7% |
| Sonny Leon | 226 | 34 | 15.0% | 9.2% |
| Jose Ferrer | 167 | 30 | 18.0% | 18.5% |
| Hector Diaz | 138 | 24 | 17.4% | 18.1% |
| Sara Hess | 217 | 24 | 11.1% | 32.0% |
| Cipriano Gil | 137 | 22 | 16.1% | 41.0% |
| Marcos Meneses | 170 | 24 | 14.1% | 7.5% |
| Ademar Santos | 157 | 19 | 12.1% | -16.3% |
| Antonio Gallardo | 136 | 18 | 13.2% | -21.2% |
| Israel Rodriguez | 106 | 17 | 16.0% | 19.2% |
| Daniel Centeno | 96 | 15 | 15.6% | -4.6% |
| Ronald Allen | 112 | 14 | 12.5% | 9.7% |
| Melissa Iorio | 133 | 11 | 8.3% | -27.2% |
| Pablo Morales | 100 | 10 | 10.0% | -29.5% |
| Scott Spieth | 52 | 9 | 17.3% | 54.5% |
| Jesus Castanon | 63 | 9 | 14.3% | 8.1% |
| Jose Batista | 113 | 8 | 7.1% | -43.2% |
| Richard Bracho | 40 | 8 | 20.0% | 49.6% |
| Pedro Cotto | 68 | 8 | 11.8% | 13.3% |
Camacho excels on turf course
Samy Camacho led the turf standings with 39 wins for a 25.3% win rate. His grass performance has been particularly strong with a 35.6% HRN impact, showing significant value for turf bettors.
Samuel Marin recorded 35 turf wins but struggled with expectations, posting a -8.7% HRN impact on grass. Antonio Gallardo found success on turf with 26 wins and a slight positive 1.7% HRN impact.
Several jockeys showed strong turf-specific results with limited opportunities. Pablo Morales posted an impressive 50.8% HRN impact with 19 turf wins, and Jose Ferrer delivered 41.9% HRN impact with 19 victories on the grass.
| Jockey | Turf starts |
Turf wins |
Win % | HRN impact % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samy Camacho | 154 | 39 | 25.3% | 35.6% |
| Samuel Marin | 201 | 35 | 17.4% | -8.7% |
| Antonio Gallardo | 133 | 26 | 19.5% | 1.7% |
| Pablo Morales | 108 | 19 | 17.6% | 50.8% |
| Jose Ferrer | 128 | 19 | 14.8% | 41.9% |
| Daniel Centeno | 124 | 18 | 14.5% | 6.4% |
| Cipriano Gil | 94 | 10 | 10.6% | 3.6% |
| Jesus Castanon | 87 | 10 | 11.5% | 8.5% |
| Sonny Leon | 139 | 7 | 5.0% | -43.0% |
| Marcos Meneses | 112 | 7 | 6.3% | -32.6% |
| Hector Diaz | 102 | 6 | 5.9% | -43.3% |
| Israel Rodriguez | 61 | 6 | 9.8% | 9.4% |
| Flavien Prat | 11 | 6 | 54.5% | 47.2% |
| Jose Batista | 73 | 5 | 6.8% | -13.5% |
| Alonso Quinonez | 56 | 5 | 8.9% | 38.8% |
| Ronald Allen | 44 | 5 | 11.4% | 85.4% |
| Sara Hess | 95 | 5 | 5.3% | 20.0% |
| Ademar Santos | 66 | 4 | 6.1% | -23.4% |
| Melissa Iorio | 76 | 3 | 3.9% | -38.2% |
| Luis Saez | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | 40.1% |