(Jockey Miguel Mena / Photo Courtesy of Churchill Downs)

There are tough breaks, and there are bad breaks. In 2018, on the verge of making headlines, and, perhaps, his first Kentucky Derby with the brash, young 3-year-old colt Bravazo, Miguel Mena suffered both.

In a riding accident, Mean sustained a badly broken ankle that require surgery to fix, and months to heal. Months. And, months. And, months.

Gone was his ride on Bravazo, a steady, if not spectacular, colt.

Gone was his chance at the KY Derby and the Triple Crown races.

Gone was his chance to ride.

But the only thing that was not gone was Mena’s desire to return to the saddle. On top.

It has taken awhile, and a lot of rehabilitation, to be sure. But Mena is back. On top.

After a nice meet at the Fair Grounds, Mena had a very solid meet at Churchill Downs. Now, after just a week or so of racing at Ellis Park, Miguel Mena is riding high and is the leading rider at the current meet — which will run through Labor Day.

In his first 28 mounts at the “Pea Patch,” Mena has a record of 7-3-1, and has won over $174,000 in purses. That gives him a 2-win lead over Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr, who has 5 wins from 24 mounts. Tyler Baze, who has shipped his tack East after years in California, has 4 wins in 34 rides so far, and is currently in the third spot.

Here’s a closer look at the top 20 riders so far:

1 Miguel Mena 28 7 3 1 $174,175 25% 11 39%
2 Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 24 5 1 5 $154,916 21% 11 46%
3 Tyler Baze 34 4 6 1 $150,974 12% 11 32%
4 James Graham 29 3 6 4 $137,834 10% 13 45%
5 Shaun Bridgmohan 5 2 2 0 $99,300 40% 4 80%
6 Corey J. Lanerie 12 3 3 1 $83,020 25% 7 58%
7 Florent Geroux 10 3 0 1 $80,444 30% 4 40%
8 Chris Landeros 3 3 0 0 $74,400 100% 3 100%
9 Gabriel Saez 16 1 4 6 $68,258 6% 11 69%
10 Channing Hill 10 2 2 0 $57,318 20% 4 40%
11 Declan Carroll 13 2 2 2 $55,516 15% 6 46%
12 Declan Cannon 17 2 3 5 $54,445 12% 10 59%
13 Edgar Morales 19 1 1 2 $49,445 5% 4 21%
14 Adam Beschizza 17 0 3 1 $47,906 0% 4 24%
15 Julien R. Leparoux 4 1 0 1 $40,150 25% 2 50%
16 Rayan Gazader 11 2 2 1 $37,038 18% 5 45%
17 David Cohen 13 2 2 2 $30,605 15% 6 46%
18 Calvin H. Borel 10 0 1 4 $21,880 0% 5 50%
19 Chantal Sutherland 18 0 2 0 $21,183 0% 2 11%
20 Jack Gilligan 16 1 0 1 $18,760 6% 2 13%