Top 10 jockeys to watch at the 2020 Kentucky Derby

Several jockeys who have starred in recent editions of the Kentucky Derby (G1) will be absent this year, because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this year's race still features many of the top riders in the game.

From Kentucky Derby mainstays, to top riders looking to shine in America's most iconic race, to younger riders getting their first chance to shine, here are the top 10 riders to watch on Derby Day.

10. Samy Camacho (King Guillermo)

A young rider on his way up, he will ride in his first Derby this year.

On the improve through the second half of the 2010s, Camacho won his first two graded stakes this year, including the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) with King Guillermo.

9. Corey Lanerie (Shirl's Speight)

A 19-time leading rider at Churchill Downs, Lanerie has ridden in the Kentucky Derby four times.

He is one of only five jockeys in this year's edition who has hit the board in the big race. He made the most with longshot Lookin at Lee, who rallied for second in the 2017 Derby.

8. Manny Franco (Tiz the Law)

Franco's best Derby days are ahead of him, as he has yet to finish better than 17th in two Derby starts.

But he hasn't had a Derby mount as talented as Tiz the Law. He rode the nation's top 3-year-old to victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1), rode him coolly in the Travers (G1), and should bring the same confidence to Kentucky.

7. Ricardo Santana, Jr. (Max Player)

Trainer Steve Asmussen's top rider has been off the board in five Derby starts, though he finished in the top half for the first time last year, when Plus Que Parfait placed eighth.

Though he and Asmussen are both looking for their first Derby victory, Santana has already won four Grade 1 races this year for Asmussen and has finished in the top 10 in jockey earnings the last two years.

6. Paco Lopez (Ny Traffic)

Lopez has ridden just one Derby, when he finished 11th in 2018 with sprinter Firenze Fire.

But this aggressive rider has gained experience on big stages, like the Breeders' Cup, and has been able to coax gritty efforts out of Ny Traffic in both the Matt Winn (G3) and the Haskell (G1).

5. Tyler Gaffalione (Dr Post)

Though he has been off the board in his two Derby starts, Gaffalione's mount last year, War of Will, notoriously had trouble.

Gaffalione won the riding title at the Churchill Downs spring/summer meet this year, and he has shined in graded stakes this year. He is 11-for-61 in graded events, with four Grade 1 wins.

4. Javier Castellano (Caracaro)

Castellano has more Derby experience (13 starts) than all but two riders expected to be in this year's race. He has only hit the board in one of those outings, but that third-place finish came just two years ago with Audible.

3. Florent Geroux (Thousand Words)

Among the younger generation of jockeys, Geroux has emerged as a big-race rider.

Though he has not won the Kentucky Derby, he has hit the board once, when he kept Gun Runner going for third in 2016, despite attending a blistering pace.

2. John Velazquez (Authentic)

With 21 Derby starts, he is one of two jockeys in this year's Derby who has won it before.

Both of his Derby wins came in the last decade, with Animal Kingdom (2011) and Always Dreaming (2017).

A second-place finish last year with Code of Honor bolsters his recent Derby form.

1. Mike Smith (Honor A. P.)

He is "Money Mike" for a reason.

Smith leads all jockeys in the 2020 Kentucky Derby with 25 starts and seven in-the-money finishes.

The more recent of his two Derby wins came with Triple Crown winner Justify (2018), but his first Derby win came with Giacomo in 2005 for John Shirreffs, who also trains Honor A. P.