Jose Lezcano

Jose Lezcano has ranked as one of the top jockeys in North America by earnings the past couple of years. He attended the Laffit Pincay Jockey School in his native Panama and began riding in his home country before moving to the U.S. in Jan. 2003 and launching his U.S. career at Gulfstream Park.

In 2006, Lezcano won the 2006 riding title at The Meadowlands and carried that success to Florida where he won the Tampa Bay Downs riding title, the same season he captured the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby with Deputy Glitters.

Lezcano enjoyed a career year in 2008, replacing perennial leader Joe Bravo as the leading rider at Monmouth Park with 141 wins, then taking the 2008 fall season at the Meadowlands. He carried that momentum into the 2009 Gulfstream Park meet and also earned a leading rider title there with 71 wins.

Lezcano finished in the top 10 among North American jockeys by purse earnings in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. His success continued into the latter half of the decade with graded stakes winners including Henley's Joy, Flameaway, La Coronel, and Voodoo Song. He finished as the leading rider by wins at Belmont's spring-summer meet in 2019.

Lezcano has three Breeders' Cup victories to his credit, winning the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2008 aboard Maram, the 2011 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic on Royal Delta and the 2013 Breeders' Cup Mile with Wise Dan. His best finishes in U.S. Triple Crown races are second on Ice Box in the 2010 Kentucky Derby and third aboard Joevia in the 2019 Belmont Stakes.