From rookies to roses: Meet every jockey set to race in the 2022 Kentucky Derby

On Saturday night at Churchill Downs in Louisville, 20 jockeys will take their mounts, emerge from the tunnel onto the dirt surface and begin final preparations for a moment they have worked their whole lives for.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby once again represents one of the most difficult tests in horse racing, having to navigate one and one-quarter miles in a crowded field in pursuit of the fame and fortune that comes with winning the race.

Here’s what you need to know about the jockeys in this year’s race, how they’ve fared all-time in the Kentucky Derby and whose experience, or lack thereof, could decide the 148th running of the Derby.

Mickael Barzalona

▪ Horse: Summer Is Tomorrow (post No. 4).

▪ Trainer: Bhupat Seemar.

▪ Barzalona will be making his Kentucky Derby debut aboard Summer Is Tomorrow.

▪ Born in France, Barzalona rode Summer Is Tomorrow to a second-place finish in the UAE Derby in March.

Rafael Bejarano

▪ Horse: Happy Jack (post No. 2).

▪ Trainer: Doug O’Neill.

▪ A winner of more than 4,200 races during his career, the 39-year-old Bejarano most notably won back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Dirt Miles in 2013 and 2014, also with an O’Neill horse (Goldencents).

▪ Bejarano has never finished in the money in 11 previous Derby starts, with his best finish being fourth in 2009 with Papa Clem.

Joe Bravo

▪ Horse: Pioneer of Medina (post No. 11).

▪ Trainer: Todd Pletcher

▪ Bravo made his Kentucky Derby debut in 2005, and was third in the 2014 race aboard Danza, also trained by Pletcher. That was also the last time Bravo had a mount in the Derby.

Manny Franco

▪ Horse: Zozos (post No. 19).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ Franco has finished in the money in one of his three career Kentucky Derby mounts, coming home second in the 2020 event with Tiz the Law.

▪ Franco and Tiz the Law proved a fruitful pairing during the 2020 Triple Crown season, as Franco and Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes, which that year was the opening leg of the Triple Crown.

Tyler Gaffalione

▪ Horse: White Abarrio (post No. 15).

▪ Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

▪ Gaffalione, who led all jockeys in the just-completed Keeneland Spring Meet with 19 wins, has never finished in the money in four career Kentucky Derby starts, with his best finish being seventh in 2019 aboard War of Will.

▪ Gaffalione went on to win the 2019 Preakness Stakes with War of Will.

Florent Geroux

▪ Horse: Cyberknife (post No. 16).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ Geroux is the defending Kentucky Derby champion, having ridden Mandaloun in the 2021 event, with that pairing now recognized as the race winners.

▪ In five career Kentucky Derby mounts, Geroux has two finishes in the money (Gun Runner in 2016, third).

Reylu Gutierrez

▪ Horse: Barber Road (post No. 14).

▪ Trainer: John Ortiz.

▪ Gutierrez will be making his Kentucky Derby debut in 2022 with Barber Road.

▪ Gutierrez, who graduated from SUNY Cortland with a degree in exercise science in 2017, has ridden Barber Road in his last two races (a third-place finish in the Rebel Stakes and a second-place finish in the Arkansas Derby, both at Oaklawn Park).

Brian Hernandez Jr.

▪ Horse: Tiz the Bomb (post No. 9).

▪ Trainer: Kenny McPeek.

▪ Hernandez has two previous starts in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 12th in 2016 with Tom’s Ready and eighth in 2017 with McCraken.

▪ Hernandez was supposed to ride the 2021 Derby with another McPeek-trained horse, King Fury, but the horse was scratched from last year’s race due to a fever.

Corey Lanerie

▪ Horse: Smile Happy (post No. 5).

▪ Trainer: Kenny McPeek.

▪ In five previous Kentucky Derby mounts, Lanerie has finished in the money just once (second with long shot Lookin At Lee in 2017).

▪ Lanerie has more than 1,100 all-time race wins at Churchill Downs.

Christophe Lemaire

▪ Horse: Crown Pride (post No. 7).

▪ Trainer: Koichi Shintani.

▪ The French-born Lemaire will be making his Kentucky Derby debut with the Japanese horse Crown Pride in 2022.

▪ Lemaire has been the Japan Racing Association’s champion jockey for the last five years, but it was Australian Damian Lane who rode Crown Pride to his UAE Derby victory.

Sonny Leon

▪ Horse: Rich Strike (post No. 20).

▪ Trainer: Eric Reed.

▪ Both Leon and trainer Reed are making their Kentucky Derby debuts with Rich Strike, which made the Derby field after Ethereal Road scratched on Friday.

▪ Leon has ridden Rich Strike in each of his last four races, although he never finished better than third in those races.

Julien Leparoux

▪ Horse: Classic Causeway (post No. 17).

▪ Trainer: Brian Lynch.

▪ The Frenchman is a seven-time Breeders’ Cup race winner.

▪ This will be Leparoux’s 14th Kentucky Derby, dating back to his 2007 debut. His best finish was fourth in 2017 with Classic Empire.

Jose Ortiz

▪ Horse: Simplification (post No. 13).

▪ Trainer: Antonio Sano.

▪ In 2014, Ortiz and his brother, Irad, became the first brothers to be jockeys in the same Kentucky Derby since 1984.

▪ In six previous mounts in the Kentucky Derby, Ortiz has finished in the money twice with Good Magic (second) in 2018 and Tacitus (third) in 2019 after Maximum Security’s disqualification.

▪ Ortiz has been a regular rider of Simplification — winning the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park and finishing third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby aboard him — but Ortiz had also been a regular rider of Chad Brown-trained Early Voting, which had enough qualifying points to run in the Derby, but will be held out.

Irad Ortiz Jr.

▪ Horse: Mo Donegal (post No. 1).

▪ Trainer: Todd Pletcher.

▪ In five previous Kentucky Derby races, Ortiz has never finished in the money and has a best finish of fourth in 2019 with Improbable.

▪ Ortiz had a strong showing during the Spring Meet at Keeneland, recording 18 wins.

Flavien Prat

▪ Horse: Zandon (post No. 10, morning-line favorite).

▪ Trainer: Chad Brown.

▪ Prat won the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard 65-1 long shot Country House after Maximum Security’s disqualification.

▪ Prat has been one of the most consistent and successful Kentucky Derby jockeys in recent years, with three finishes in the money in four starts dating back to 2017.

▪ Following the disqualification of 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, Prat was awarded second place in last year’s race with Hot Rod Charlie.

Joel Rosario

▪ Horse: Epicenter (post No. 3).

▪ Trainer: Steve Asmussen.

▪ Rosario won the 2013 Kentucky Derby aboard Orb, but that was the only time in 10 career Derby mounts that Rosario has finished in the money, although he has finished in the top five on six occasions.

▪ Rosario has ridden Epicenter for all three of his 2022 races, a second-place finish and two wins at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

Luis Saez

▪ Horse: Charge It (post No. 8).

▪ Trainer: Todd Pletcher.

▪ In eight career Kentucky Derby mounts, Saez has finished in the money just once, with Essential Quality in last year’s race after Medina Spirit’s disqualification became official.

▪ Saez was involved in his own Derby controversy in 2019, when he initially won the race aboard Maximum Security before being disqualified due to interference.

Ricardo Santana Jr.

▪ Horse: Tawny Port (post No. 18).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ Santana has never finished in the money in seven career Kentucky Derby mounts. His best finish? Fifth in 2020 aboard Max Player.

▪ Saturday’s race will be the first time Santana rides Tawny Port. Florent Geroux, who will ride the Cox-trained Cyberknife in the Derby, was aboard Tawny Port for his win in the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 16.

Mike Smith

▪ Horse: Taiba (post No. 12).

▪ Trainer: Tim Yakteen.

▪ Smith will be making his 28th start in the Kentucky Derby, the most all-time.

▪ Smith has twice won the Kentucky Derby with 50-1 long shot Giacomo (2005) and eventual Triple Crown winner Justify (2018).

▪ Smith is 1-0-0 in one career start aboard Taiba (Santa Anita Derby win on April 9).

John Velazquez

▪ Horse: Messier (post No. 6).

▪ Trainer: Tim Yakteen.

▪ Velazquez is a three-time Kentucky Derby winner with Animal Kingdom (2011), Always Dreaming (2017) and Authentic (2020), and he’s ridden in every Derby since 2007.

▪ Velazquez temporarily had four Kentucky Derby wins after prevailing in the 2021 race with Medina Spirit, before the horse was later disqualified.

▪ In 25 career Kentucky Derby mounts, the 50-year-old Velazquez has finished in the money five times.

This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 7:21 AM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription