(Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr., who won with Fire at Will in the Breeders’ Cup / Coady Photography)
The man can ride.
The man can win.
That’s the reason that Ricardo Santana, Jr. has been the go-to rider for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen for quite some time.
But now?
Now, more and more people are getting in while the getting is good.
Santana is now riding for more top trainers, like Mike Maker.
Santana is now riding for more top horses, like Breeders’ Cup 2YO winner Fire at Will.
Santana is now getting his rewards.
After Sunday’s races were done, Santana is also now the current leader in the Jockey Standings for the Churchill Downs’ Fall Meet. With 51 rides neatly tucked in his saddle, Santana has 11 wins, 13 seconds and 3 thirds. His horses have won .22% of the time, and have hit the board on a whopping .53% rate.
That gives Santana a slim 1-win margin over Tyler Gaffalione, who has suddenly emerged as the top rider in the Commonwealth, after having moved his tack up to the Midwest after starting the career with glitter and gold at Gulfstream Park.
Should be an interesting race to the wire for the riders this meet. Stay tuned.
Jockey Standings at Churchill Downs:
| 1 | Ricardo Santana, Jr. | 51 | 11 | 13 | 3 | $635,997 | 22% | 27 | 53% |
| 2 | Florent Geroux | 43 | 9 | 6 | 5 | $496,094 | 21% | 20 | 47% |
| 3 | Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. | 35 | 7 | 3 | 7 | $438,237 | 20% | 17 | 49% |
| 4 | Tyler Gaffalione | 55 | 10 | 10 | 5 | $431,176 | 18% | 25 | 45% |
| 5 | Joseph Talamo | 43 | 7 | 7 | 3 | $383,822 | 16% | 17 | 40% |
| 6 | Rafael Bejarano | 41 | 6 | 5 | 12 | $333,202 | 15% | 23 | 56% |
| 7 | Gabriel Saez | 37 | 4 | 9 | 5 | $300,359 | 11% | 18 | 49% |
| 8 | Julien R. Leparoux | 33 | 4 | 3 | 5 | $254,030 | 12% | 12 | 36% |
| 9 | James Graham | 35 | 7 | 4 | 5 | $249,032 | 20% | 16 | 46% |
| 10 | Corey J. Lanerie | 41 | 7 | 4 | 1 | $236,101 | 17% | 12 | 29% |
| 11 | Chris Landeros | 18 | 2 | 3 | 2 | $139,294 | 11% | 7 | 39% |
| 12 | Gerardo Corrales | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | $124,511 | 27% | 4 | 36% |
| 13 | Adam Beschizza | 29 | 1 | 0 | 4 | $103,801 | 3% | 5 | 17% |
| 14 | Colby J. Hernandez | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | $95,462 | 6% | 4 | 24% |
| 15 | Mitchell Murrill | 18 | 2 | 5 | 5 | $83,062 | 11% | 12 | 67% |
| 16 | Edgar Morales | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | $74,113 | 6% | 3 | 19% |
| 17 | Miguel Mena | 17 | 1 | 4 | 1 | $66,346 | 6% | 6 | 35% |
| 18 | Joel Rosario | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $54,808 | 100% | 1 | 100% |
| 19 | Jon Kenton Court | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | $54,128 | 7% | 5 | 33% |
| 20 | Declan Cannon | 21 | 0 | 1 | 3 | $49,051 | 0% | 4 | 19% |
(Stats compiled by Equibase)
