Several of the all-time winningest jockeys in Breeders’ Cup history are still active and will be aboard many of the key contenders at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup World Championships Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

You could do a lot worse than picking the contenders ridden by the jockeys that have had the most Breeders’ Cup success so far in their careers, and picking the horses ridden by the best time-tested and proven Breeders’ Cup jockeys can be a legitimate tie-breaker between contenders and a difference maker in your handicapping.

Based on past results, some of the best bets in the Breeders’ Cup may be horses ridden by jockeys Mike Smith, John Velazquez, Irad Ortiz Jr., Joel Rosario, Frankie Dettori, and William Buick. Who are the best Breeders’ Cup jockeys? Which jockeys underperform? Read on for an overview of how some of the biggest-name jockeys in the world have performed in their careers on the sport’s biggest stage.

Best Breeders’ Cup Jockeys - The Cream of the Crop

The jockey currently moving up the Breeders’ Cup win leaderboard the fastest is Irad Ortiz Jr., who earned his first Breeders’ Cup win in 2014 and is already up to 20 career Breeders’ Cup victories with 17 of those victories coming the last seven years. Irad has already ascended to fourth on the all-time Breeders’ Cup purse earnings list among jockeys with $28,950,345. Irad went winless in 11 mounts at the 2024 Breeders’ Cup but look for him to rebound this year based on a multitude of other recent Breeders’ Cup successes, including three wins from 13 mounts at the 2023 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park. In the 2022 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, Irad also won three races from 13 mounts. He had 3 wins on 11 mounts at the 2021 Breeders’ Cup, had two winners in 2020, and had a four-win showing in 2019. Irad’s overall 20-for-111 record gives him an impressive 18% overall win percentage.

European-based jockeys have been red hot at the three most recent Breeders’ Cups in 2022, ’23, and, ’24. Last year at Del Mar, European riders won five of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races including two wins by Ryan Moore, who is one of the all-time winningest jockeys in the history of the Breeders’ Cup with 16 career wins from 104 mounts (15.4%). Moore suffered a broken leg this summer and is expected to miss the 2025 Breeders’ Cup altogether. Keep a close lookout for the jockey(s) that replace Moore aboard the Aidan O’Brien/Coolmore contenders in this year’s various turf races.

Buick won 2024 Longines Turf on Rebel’s Romance. (Eclipse Sportswire)

The other hot European rider in the Breeders’ Cup has been William Buick with a 23.1% career win rate. Buick rides for Godolphin and European-based trainer Charlie Appleby and owns nine wins from 39 career Breeders’ Cup mounts, including a 2024 win aboard Rebel’s Romance in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf, a 2023 win aboard Master of The Seas in the FanDuel Mile, and 2022 wins in the Juvenile Turf Sprint and the Mile. Add those to Buick’s three wins in 2021 and you can see that the Buick/Appleby jockey-trainer combo is difficult to ignore.

The top formerly European-based rider in the history of the Breeders’ Cup is Frankie Dettori, who is now based in the United Stakes. Dettori, has won 15 races from his 129 Breeders’ Cup mounts dating all the way to his first win mount in 1990 and win in 1994. Dettori ranks fifth by purse earnings on the all-time Breeders’ Cup jockey list with $27,741,862. His only recent win (since 2018) came in 2023 in the Filly and Mare Turf aboard Inspiral but he could pick-up more live mounts this year in Moore’s absence.

The jockey that made the biggest impact in last year’s 2024 Breeders’ Cup was Flavien Prat, who won the Longines Classic aboard Sierra Leone and the Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf aboard Moira to go along with a second-place finish aboard Raging Sea in the Distaff. Prat has now won two of the last three Classics after also piloting superstar Flightline to a 2022 win. Prat also won a race in 2023 aboard Hard to Justify in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. In total, Prat has five Breeders’ Cup wins the last three years which marks a big improvement for him. His overall Breeders’ Cup record is still not great with 7 wins from 96 career mounts for a win percentage of 7.3%, but his win rate has been improving year to year.

Two years ago at the 2023 Breeders’ Cup, one of the big winners was Junior Alvarado, who scored twice for trainer Bill Mott aboard Cody’s Wish in the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile and Just F Y I in the NetJets Juvenile Fillies. Alvarado’s first career Breeders’ Cup win came as recently as 2022, also aboard Cody’s Wish. Alvarado’s career Breeders’ Cup record now stands at three wins from 22 mounts. He will have good chances to add to the win total this year, notably aboard Sovereignty in the Classic.

The all-time winningest rider in the history of the Breeders’ Cup is Mike Smith with 27. Smith is not riding as many horses anymore with his only win since 2017 coming in the 2021 Juvenile aboard Corniche, but he’ll be lined up with some live mounts for West Coast connections in 2025.

Another veteran jockey who could have a big impact on the 2025 Breeders’ Cup is John Velazquez, who now has 21 Breeders’ Cup wins dating back to his first win on Da Hoss in the 1998 Mile. Velazquez’s more recent successes include his 2024 win aboard Straight No Chaser in the Cygames Sprint and his runaway 2023 victory aboard Fierceness in the Juvenile. He also was aboard Fierceness’s runner-up finish in the 2024 Classic and will get yet another chance aboard Fierceness in the 2025 Classic. There still may be no better rider to have aboard your Breeders’ Cup contender and you can do a lot worse than having Johnny V. aboard your Breeders’ Cup pick in any race. He is ranked first in all-time Breeders’ Cup purse earnings with $39,330,275 and his 21 wins rank second to Smith.

Joel Rosario is yet another veteran jockey that has made an impact in the Breeders’ Cup over the years. His career win total is up to 16, including last year’s win aboard Full Serrano in the Dirt Mile. Rosario’s career purses total $29,892,535 to rank third on the all-time earnings list. Rosario won at least one Breeders’ Cup race every year from 2014 to 2021.

Florent Geroux also deserves a Breeders’ Cup honorable mention. Geroux’s record of eight Breeders’ Cup wins from only 43 mounts places him amongst the active leaders in terms of win percentage (18.6%). Geroux’s most recent win was aboard Idiomatic in the 2023 Distaff.

Underperforming Breeders’ Cup Jockeys

Not every one of the most high-profile jockeys has enjoyed a lot of Breeders’ Cup success, and it makes you appreciate even more the accomplishments of riders like Smith, Velazquez, Rosario, Irad Ortiz, and other top jockeys. Winning Breeders’ Cup races with regularity is not easy to do.

Can Jose Ortiz build off 2024 success? (Eclipse Sportswire)

Perhaps the most surprising name on the list of underperforming Breeders’ Cup jockeys is Jose Ortiz, who is often mentioned in the conversation of best jockeys in North America. So far, however, he has not found widespread success in the Breeders’ Cup. Jose Ortiz went 0-for-9 at the 2022 Breeders’ Cup and 0-for-5 in 2023 before finally got back in the win column once in 2024 aboard More Than Looks in the Mile. That win was only his sixth career Breeders’ Cup win from 88 mounts for a lifetime win percentage of just 6.8%.

Another jockey you would expect a better Breeders’ Cup record from is Tyler Gaffalione, who wins jockey titles all over Kentucky but hasn’t yet as much success in the Breeders’ Cup. The exception for Gaffalione was 2022 when he won the Turf Sprint aboard Caravel and the Juvenile Fillies aboard Wonder Wheel. Those two horses account for his only Breeders’ Cup wins, however, and his career record now stands at just 2-for-63 (3.2%).

Finally, the most glaring member of this high-profile list of top everyday jockeys that has yet to find consistent Breeders’ Cup success is Luis Saez, who has won riding titles all over at places like Saratoga, Keeneland, and Gulfstream Park but so far has only one career Breeders’ Cup win from 68 mounts (0-for-15 combined in 2023-’24). Saez’s lone win came in 2020 aboard Essential Quality in the Juvenile.

Will 2024 be the breakout year at the Breeders’ Cup for jockeys like Saez, Gaffalione, and Jose Ortiz, or will all-time Breeders’ Cup leaders like Irad Ortiz Jr., Mike Smith, John Velazquez, and Frankie Dettori continue to dominate the winner’s circle? Which jockeys will shine at the 2025 Breeders’ Cup? Tune-in Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to find out.