Rookies to veterans, and all in between: Meet every jockey in the 2023 Kentucky Derby

Cameron Drummond
·7 min read

Kentucky Derby 149 is upon us.

On Saturday night at Churchill Downs in Louisville, 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 2023 Kentucky Derby — and the potential weather that may come with it — represents one of the most difficult tests in horse racing, with jockeys having to navigate one and one-quarter miles in a crowded field and in front of a massive crowd.

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 race.

Jockeys are listed in alphabetical order.

Junior Alvarado

▪ Horse: Rocket Can (post No. 15).

▪ Trainer: Bill Mott.

▪ The Venezuelan finished fourth in the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Mohaymen.

▪ This will be Alvarado’s fourth career Derby start.

Rafael Bejarano

▪ Horse: King Russell (post No. 18).

▪ Trainer: Ron Moquett.

▪ Bejarano went from being firmly out of the Kentucky Derby picture on Thursday morning to having a Derby mount come Thursday night: King Russell was the third and final horse on the also-eligible list for the Derby, and all three of those horses made the starting gate Thursday after significant changes to the field.

▪ Bejarano has been aboard King Russell for his last four races, including his second-place trip in April’s Arkansas Derby.

▪ It’s best to not look at Bejarano’s Kentucky Derby history if you’re thinking of financially investing in King Russell: Bejarano has never finished in the money in 12 prior Derby starts, with his best finish being fourth with Papa Clem in 2009.

Javier Castellano

▪ Horse: Mage (post No. 8).

▪ Trainer: Gustavo Delgado.

▪ Castellano’s best-ever Derby finish was third in the 2018 race with Audible.

▪ This will be Castellano’s 16th try at winning the Kentucky Derby, making him the jockey in the 2023 race with the second-most experience.

Gerardo Corrales

▪ Horse: Raise Cain (post No. 13).

▪ Trainer: Ben Colebrook.

▪ Corrales, along with trainer Colebrook, will each be making their Kentucky Derby debuts Saturday.

Manny Franco

▪ Horse: Hit Show (post No. 1).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ Franco’s best showing in the Run for the Roses came in the COVID-19 delayed 2020 race, when he finished second with Tiz the Law.

▪ This will be Franco’s fifth attempt to win the Kentucky Derby.

Tyler Gaffalione

▪ Horse: Verifying (post No. 2).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ The accomplished Floridian officially has a career-best Derby finish of seventh from the 2019 race with War of Will, whom Gaffalione won the Preakness Stakes with later that year.

▪ This will be the sixth Kentucky Derby appearance for Gaffalione.

Florent Geroux

▪ Horse: Jace’s Road (post No. 10).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ This will be Geroux’s seventh all-time appearance in the Kentucky Derby.

▪ Geroux is one of four former Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys with a mount in the 2023 race.

▪ Geroux’s lone Kentucky Derby win came in 2021 with Mandaloun, although the actual awarding of the race win came months after the fact when the victory was stripped from Medina Spirit after a positive test for betamethasone.

Florent Geroux was credited with the Derby win in 2021 when Mandaloun was declared the winner in the wake of Medina Spirit’s disqualification.
Florent Geroux was credited with the Derby win in 2021 when Mandaloun was declared the winner in the wake of Medina Spirit’s disqualification.

James Graham

▪ Horse: Confidence Game (post No. 4).

▪ Trainer: Keith Desormeaux.

▪ An Irishman, Graham would become the first jockey from Ireland to ever win the Kentucky Derby if Confidence Game crosses the wire first on Saturday.

▪ This will be Graham’s third Derby mount, and he’s yet to hit the board in the race. Graham’s best finish in the Run for the Roses was eighth in 2018 with Lone Sailor.

Brian Hernandez Jr.

▪ Horse: Sun Thunder (post No. 11).

▪ Trainer: Kenny McPeek.

▪ Hernandez’s best finish in the Kentucky Derby was an eighth-place effort in 2017 aboard McCraken.

▪ This will be Hernandez’s fourth attempt at winning the Kentucky Derby.

Kazushi Kimura

▪ Horse: Mandarin Hero (JPN) (post No. 17).

▪ Trainer: Terunobu Fujita.

▪ This will be the Kentucky Derby debut for Kimura, who will be riding one of two Japanese horses in this year’s Derby field.

▪ Kimura will be making his Derby debut after Lord Miles was removed from the race Thursday afternoon following the suspension of his trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr.

▪ Mandarin Hero, under Kimura’s direction, finished second by a nose to Practical Move in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby last month. By doing so, Mandarin Hero became the first Japanese horse to hit the board in that race.

Christophe Lemaire

▪ Horse: Derma Sotogake (JPN) (post No. 14).

▪ Trainer: Hidetaka Otonashi.

▪ A Frenchman, Lemaire was also aboard a Japanese horse when he made his Derby debut last year: Crown Pride ran 13th.

▪ History will be firmly against Lemaire and the Derma Sotogake team on Saturday: No horse from Japan has ever finished in the money in the Kentucky Derby.

Jareth Loveberry

▪ Horse: Two Phil’s (post No. 3).

▪ Trainer: Larry Rivelli.

▪ Loveberry and the Two Phil’s team represent a feel-good story entering Saturday’s race: Both he and trainer Larry Rivelli will be making their Derby debuts with Two Phil’s, who qualified for the race after winning the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park in Florence.

Irad Ortiz Jr.

▪ Horse: Cyclone Mischief (post No. 16)

▪ Trainer: Dale Romans.

▪ Cyclone Mischief joined the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field Thursday afternoon after Practical Move scratched out of the race.

▪ Cyclone Mischief’s usual jockey is Joel Rosario, but Rosario had already committed to riding Disarm in the Derby. It was thought that Corey Lanerie would be taking the mount of Cyclone Mischief in the Derby, but those plans changed after Ortiz’s mount, Forte, was scratched as the race favorite Saturday morning.

▪ Ortiz has never finished in the money in six prior Derby mounts, with his best showing being fourth in 2019 aboard Improbable.

▪ Saturday is set to be the sixth time that the Ortiz brothers (Irad and Jose) both have mounts in the same Kentucky Derby. Despite being the older brother, Irad has gotten the better of his brother on just one of these occasions so far. Irad finished eighth with Known Agenda in 2021, while Jose was 17th with Dynamic One.

Jose Ortiz

▪ Horse: Kingsbarns (post No. 6).

▪ Trainer: Todd Pletcher.

▪ This will be Ortiz’s eighth try at winning the Kentucky Derby, and he’s posted a top-three finish in two prior editions of the race.

▪ Saturday is set to be the sixth time that the Ortiz brothers (Irad and Jose) both have mounts in the same Kentucky Derby. Jose has gotten the better of his brother on five of these occasions, including in 2018, when Jose recorded his best-ever Derby finish (second with Good Magic).

▪ Of note, this will be Ortiz’s first time riding Kingsbarns: Flavien Prat was aboard the horse for his Louisiana Derby win.

Flavien Prat

▪ Horse: Angel of Empire (post No. 12).

▪ Trainer: Brad Cox.

▪ Prat is one of four former Derby winners in the field, although like Florent Geroux, Prat’s prior Derby triumph came with controversy. He won the 2019 event with Country House after initial race winner Maximum Security was disqualified for interference.

▪ Prat is set to be aboard a horse for the sixth time in the Kentucky Derby.

Flavien Prat, who rode Flightline to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland last fall, was declared the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard Country House.
Flavien Prat, who rode Flightline to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland last fall, was declared the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard Country House.

Joel Rosario

▪ Horse: Disarm (post No. 9).

▪ Trainer: Steve Asmussen.

▪ Rosario is one of the most experienced jockeys set to take part in the 2023 Kentucky Derby: He has 11 previous starts in the Run for the Roses.

▪ Rosario was the winning jockey in 2013 with Orb.

Luis Saez

▪ Horse: Tapit Trice (post No. 5).

▪ Trainer: Todd Pletcher.

▪ Flavien Prat’s Derby win in 2019 came at the misfortune of Saez, who was aboard Maximum Security and crossed the finish line first before his disqualification.

▪ This will be Saez’s 10th all-time Kentucky Derby start.

John Velazquez

▪ Horse: Reincarnate (post No. 7).

▪ Trainer: Tim Yakteen.

▪ Reincarnate may be the definition of a Derby long shot (he’s one of four horses with morning-line odds of 50-1 in the projected Derby field), but his jockey’s credentials are unmatched: Velazquez has won the Derby on three occasions in 2011 (Animal Kingdom), 2017 (Always Dreaming) and 2020 (Authentic).

▪ Only three jockeys have currently won four or more Kentucky Derbys.

▪ Velazquez is the most experienced jockey in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, with 24 prior mounts in the race.