2023 Kentucky Derby jockey profile: Ramon Vazquez

Who is Ramon Vazquez?

Jockey Ramon Vazquez has come a long way since starting his riding career in Puerto Rico in 2002.

Success was abundant in his homeland. Vazquez went 282-for-1,114 (25%) in his first year of riding and won at least 112 races every year from 2002 through 2010, along the way winning many of Puerto Rico’s most important events.

Vazquez shifted his tack to the United States in 2011, and for a handful of years his momentum slowed. But in 2014 he won 187 races, and in 2015 he upped his tally to 233 wins, and the victories have come in bunches ever since. As of April 25, 2023, Vazquez boasts more than 3,500 wins and earnings in excess of $73.5 million.

In 2022, Vazquez picked up the mount on a then-unheralded colt named Practical Move. Together they’ve gone 3-for-3, employing bold rail-skimming tactics to win the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), San Felipe (G2), and Santa Anita Derby (G1) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Now Vazquez and Practical Move have an opportunity to reach new heights in the 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1), a race in which Practical Move ranks among the favorites to win.

In anticipation of the first Saturday in May, we’re analyzing Vazquez’s record riding on dirt and synthetic at a handful of prominent tracks on the Road to the Kentucky Derby:

All stats listed above from Jan. 1, 2018 through April 25, 2023. Generated by STATSMASTER, Powered by TrackMaster, an Equibase Company.

Vazquez at Churchill Downs

Since 2018, Vazquez has gone unbeaten in three rides over the Churchill Downs main track. In 2021, he won the 1 1/2-mile Isaac Murphy Marathon S. aboard Lone Rock and the 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod (G2) aboard Dream Lith. The following year he returned to Churchill and scored a repeat victory aboard Lone Rock in the Isaac Murphy Marathon, leading all the way to dominate by 7 1/2 lengths.

Vazquez at Fair Grounds

From two rides over the Fair Grounds main track in 2022, Vazquez finished third in a maiden special weight and sixth in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Vazquez at Keeneland

In 2022, Vazquez rode twice over the Keeneland main track on Breeders’ Cup Friday, finishing second in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G2) aboard Heywoods Beach and eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) aboard And Tell Me Nolies.

Vazquez at Oaklawn Park

Oaklawn Park is where Vazquez has enjoyed much of his success. His first U.S. graded stakes score came at Oaklawn aboard Subtle Indian in the 2016 Count Fleet Sprint H. (G3), and in 2022 he added the Bayakoa (G3) riding Miss Bigly and the Rebel (G2) aboard Un Ojo to his graded tally. All told, Vazquez has gone 189-for-1,337 (14%) at Oaklawn since 2018, along the way accumulating nearly $10 million in earnings.

Vazquez at Santa Anita

Vazquez started riding at Santa Anita in 2022 and has enjoyed resounding success, winning with 21% of his mounts on dirt. Many of those victories have come in important stakes: the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and San Felipe (G2) aboard Practical Move, the Las Virgenes (G3) riding Faiza, the Chandelier (G2) aboard And Tell Me Nolies, the Zenyatta (G2) guiding Midnight Memories, and the Tokyo City Cup (G3) aboard Heywoods Beach.