Jockeys and trainers to watch at Churchill Downs

Better late than never, the Churchill Downs spring meet will kick off May 16, with six weeks of racing action.

With several circuits still shuttered, because of to the COVID-19 pandemic, high-profile jockeys and trainers from around the country are taking aim at Churchill Downs, which sets the stage for a deep and competitive meet.

Let’s review five jockeys and five trainers to keep an eye on at Churchill this spring.

Jockeys

Corey Lanerie

Since the beginning of 2017, Lanerie has won six of the eight meet titles at Churchill Downs, with a 19% win rate. Lanerie was particularly dominant during the 2019 spring meet, when he went 43-for-208 (21%) to beat runner-up Miguel Mena (29 wins) by a wide margin.

Lanerie isn’t afraid to ride the rail and frequently succeeds with ground-saving trips, so his mounts always warrant consideration.

Julien Leparoux

Like Lanerie, Leparoux has posted a 19% strike rate at Churchill over the last three years, and blindly betting on all his mounts in 2019 would have produced a 12% profit.

Leparoux was particularly successful on dirt last year, when he won at a 22% rate, with a 23% return on investment for bettors.

Jose Ortiz

While Ortiz hasn’t been a regular rider at Churchill Downs, he has enjoyed success from limited opportunities over the last three years (15-for-70).

Blindly betting all his mounts would have produced a 31% profit. The only tricky part for Ortiz might be generating early momentum. Because of the lingering effects of a wrist injury, plus the spread of COVID-19, he hasn’t ridden since March 18.

Joel Rosario

Fresh off a powerful finish to the Oaklawn Park meet, where he went 17-for-45 (38%), Rosario will be a new face among the regular riders at Churchill Downs.

A winner of 83 Grade 1 races, most recently the Arkansas Derby (G1) with Nadal, Rosario annually ranks among the leading jockeys in North America.

The momentum he generated at Oaklawn could translate to continued success at Churchill, where Rosario won the 2013 Kentucky Derby (G1) aboard Orb.

John Velazquez

A Hall of Fame inductee, Velazquez normally spends the spring in New York, which means he has only ridden in 47 races at Churchill (six wins) since the beginning of 2017.

But Velazquez is a star when the stakes are high. He has nabbed a pair of Kentucky Derby wins, with Animal Kingdom (2011) and Always Dreaming (2017), so his long record of success figures to attract the support of Kentucky horsemen.

Trainers

Steve Asmussen

No trainer has won more races at Churchill Downs over the last three years than Asmussen, who has saddled 139 winners from 755 starters (18% strike rate).

Asmussen frequently sends his best runners to tackle Churchill’s biggest races. He won Grade 1 races over the Louisville oval with Mitole, Mia Mischief, and She’s a Julie in 2019.

Chad Brown

The winner of the last four Eclipse Awards for outstanding trainer, Chad Brown is typically based in New York this time of year. But with racing options limited, Brown will send a string of horses to Churchill, where he went 4-for-15 (27%) in 2019.

Turf routes are Brown’s forte, and he nabbed a couple Breeders’ Cup victories over the Churchill grass course in 2018, with Sistercharlie and Newspaperofrecord.

A big spring could be in the offing for Brown’s powerful stable.

Mark Casse

If betting on unraced 2-year-olds is your game, keep an eye out for horses trained by Casse. Over the last three years, Casse has gone 9-for-35 (26%) with juvenile first-time starters at Churchill Downs, a testament to how effectively he is able to prepare his young runners.

Brad Cox

If you’re looking for a trainer who saddles a large number of winners and a high percentage of winners, Cox is your man. With a 110-for-473 record at Churchill since 2017, Cox is second only to Asmussen by number of wins, and his 23% strike rate ranks among the best of any trainer.

Part of this success can be attributed to the versatility of Cox’s runners. They win at similar rates on both dirt and turf, whether sprinting or routing.

John Sadler

Normally based in California, Sadler campaigned a string of horses at Oaklawn Park with great success this winter, going 15-for-66 (23%). Sadler’s Oaklawn division will now head to Churchill Downs, where he will try to keep his momentum going over the same track where he nabbed the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) with champion Accelerate.