Some of the best 3-year-old horses in the country and their riders are set to face off on Saturday, June 10, at Belmont Park in the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets. Adding significance to this final leg of the 2023 Triple Crown is that it marks the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s historic win in the Belmont Stakes. On that day, “Big Red” was ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte and they were both immortalized in victory.

While this year’s running of the race doesn’t feature any horses that appear be on the level of the legendary Secretariat, a win in the Belmont Stakes means a place in racing history for both horse and rider. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the jockeys who’ll attempt to win the Belmont on Saturday. 

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Javier Castellano

Age: 45

Originally from: Venezuela

Previous rides in the Belmont: 14

Best finish: Second in 2011 (Stay Thirsty), 2014 (Commissioner) and 2016 (Destin)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Arcangelo

Javier Castellano is riding high these days, just a month removed from his winning his first career Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. He captured the roses aboard Mage and they followed that up with a third-place finish in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. With Mage not running in the Belmont Stakes, Castellano will hop aboard Arcangelo for the third and final race of this year’s Triple Crown series. Trainer by Jena Antonucci for Blue Rose Farm, Arcangelo has been in impressive in his two most recent starts highlighted by a win over the dirt at Belmont Park in the Peter Pan Stakes last month. A win on Saturday would be the first in the Belmont Stakes for Castellano who has finished second in the race on three occasions. It would also mark another notch on the belt of the Hall of Fame rider whose résumé includes more than 5,600 wins and four Eclipse Awards.

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Manny Franco

Age: 29

Originally from: Puerto Rico

Previous rides in the Belmont: 3

Best finish: Won in 2020 (Tiz the Law)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Hit Show

Manny Franco has made a steady rise to the upper echelon of jockeys on the NYRA circuit over the past several years. His career started at the jockey school in Puerto Rico before beginning his career at Camarero Racetrack. In 2013, he moved to New York and in 2018 and 2019 he led the competitive NYRA colony in wins with a combined 456 wins. He's also finished in the top ten nationally in earnings every year since 2016. Franco enjoyed success with his first Belmont Stakes mount in 2020, riding Tiz the Law to victory in the 152nd running of the race. Last year, Franco hit the homestretch of the Belmont Stakes with a shot at winning the race again but ultimately finished third aboard Skippylongstocking. Franco is in with another contender this year in Hit Show. After winning the Withers Stakes and finishing second in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino, Hit Show closed to finish an impressive fifth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve at odds of 24.02-1. If he and Franco can take another step forward off of that effort, they could make some noise on Saturday.

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Marcos Meneses

Age: 37

Originally from: Venezuela

Previous rides in the Belmont: 0

Best finish: N/A

His 2023 Belmont horse: Il Miracolo

New to the frenzy of the Belmont Stakes this year will be Marcos Meneses The native of Venezuela has been a mainstay in South Florida since he began riding in the United States n 2015. This year’s Belmont will easily mark the most significant mount of his career. To date, Meneses has banked nearly 4,500 rides and he’s won nearly 400 races, the biggest of which was the 2020 Hal’s Hope Stakes at Gulfstream Park aboard a horse named Identifier at odds of over 60-1. Meneses will be tasked with pulling off a similar upset if he’s to win the Belmont this year with longshot Il Miracolo. Though he won in his most recent start last month, Il Miracolo was soundly defeated earlier in the year in each of his attempts against the kinds of upper-tier graded stakes contenders he’ll face again on Saturday.

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Irad Ortiz Jr.

Age: 30

Originally from: Puerto Rico

Previous rides in the Belmont: 8

Best finish: Won in 2016 (Creator) and 2022 (Mo Donegal)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Forte

Irad Ortiz just keeps getting better and is statistically the best jockey in America. At just 30 years old, he’s a sure-fire future Hall of Famer who already has two Belmont Stakes wins to his credit. Ortiz is a four-time Eclipse Award winner, having captured the award as North America’s leading rider last year – and he’s on pace to win it again this year. Ortiz is the current leader nationally by purse earnings (more than $15 million already) and wins for 2023. Of his 3,500-plus career victories, 17 of them have come at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Nowhere is Ortiz more comfortable riding than in New York and at Belmont Park where he’s won nine riding titles. He’ll have a strong chance to win a third Belmont Stakes when he rides Forte this Saturday. Considered the best horse in his division heading into the Triple Crown series, Forte’s bids for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Preakness Stakes were derailed by injury. Now that he’s back for the Belmont, you can expect this colt will go off as one of the well-backed favorites.

Eclipse Sportswire

Jose Ortiz

Age: 29

Originally from: Puerto Rico

Previous rides in the Belmont: 8

Best finish: Won in 2017 (Tapwrit)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Tapit Shoes

For over a decade, New York has been home to Jose Ortiz, who us the younger brother of jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. From the outset, Jose has enjoyed success in the Big Apple where he’s racked up a dozen riding titles. In 2017, he captured the Eclipse Award as the top jockey in the country while leading the nation in earnings with more than $27 million. That same year, Ortiz won the Belmont Stakes aboard Tapwrit. That horse was a son of the stallion Tapit, as is the horse that Ortiz will riding in this year’s Belmont Stakes: Tapit Shoes. Thus far untested in graded stakes company, Tapit Shoes has just one win in five career starts. However, he does have the right pedigree – and jockey – to improve in the mile-and-a-half journey that is the Belmont Stakes.

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Flavien Prat

Age: 30

Originally from: France

Previous rides in the Belmont: 2

Best finish: Finished second in 2021 (Hot Rod Charlie)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Angel of Empire

In Flavien Prat’s first Belmont Stakes ride in 2021 he nearly won the race aboard Hot Rod Charlie. Last year, he was on the lead for most of the Belmont Stakes on We The People before getting passed in the stretch and finishing fourth. The third attempt for Prat could be the charm and he’ll have every opportunity to win on Saturday when he rides Angel of Empire. The horse finished third in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and is considered one of the favorites in the Belmont Stakes. A Belmont Stakes win is all that’s missing from the Triple Crown series on Prat’s résumé. He won the Kentucky Derby in 2019 and the Preakness Stakes in 2021. That’s pretty remarkable considering Prat’s first full season riding in North America was just eight years ago. Since 2015, Prat has won multiple riding titles in California and has scored four Breeders’ Cup victories. In three of the past four years, he’s finished in the top five in earnings for jockeys nationally. He’s currently third on the list in 2023 behind only Irad Ortiz Jr. and Luis Saez.

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Joel Rosario

Age: 38

Originally from: Dominican Republic

Previous rides in the Belmont: 11

Best finish: Won in 2014 (Tonalist) and 2019 (Sir Winston)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Red Route One

Joel Rosario has made the most of his opportunities in the Belmont Stakes and has proven himself a reliable rider on the biggest days and on the biggest stages in racing. He won the Kentucky Derby in 2013 (Orb) and has collected 15 wins in Breeders’ Cup races. Rosario, who has been a leading New York-based jockey multiple times, and won the Belmont Stakes in 2019 aboard longshot Sir Winston. It was a second Belmont Stakes triumph for Rosario who previously won the race in 2014 on Tonalist. He’ll go for a third this Saturday when he rides Red Route One. The horse comes to New York after running a credible fourth in the Preakness Stakes. He also finished second in back-to-back Kentucky Derby prep races at Oaklawn Park this winter before finishing sixth in the Arkansas Derby which was won by Angel of Empire.

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Luis Saez

Age: 31

Originally from: Panama

Previous rides in the Belmont: 5

Best finish: Won in 2021 (Essential Quality)

His 2023 Belmont horse: Tapit Trice

A winner of nearly 3,300 races at the age of 31, Luis Saez seems destined for the Hall of Fame at his current pace. He has ranked in the top five in wins among all jockeys in the U.S. the past four years. Saez also has a Belmont Stakes win on his résumé going back to 2021 when he won the race aboard Essential Quality. That horse, a son of Tapit, also won the TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA with Saez aboard. Progeny of Tapit have had lots of success in the Belmont Stakes in recent years, and that bodes well for Saez as he’s slated to ride another Tapit colt on Saturday, Tapit Trice. After winning the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes earlier in the year, Tapit Trice finished a somewhat disappointing-for-him seventh in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. He and Saez are hoping to score some redemption with a strong bounce-back effort in the Belmont Stakes.

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John Velazquez

Age: 51

Originally from: Puerto Rico

Previous rides in the Belmont: 25

Best finish: Won in 2007 (Rags to Riches) and 2012 (Union Rags)

His 2023 Belmont horse: National Treasure

As of three weeks ago, all that was missing on the Hall of Fame résumé of John Velazquez was a victory in the Preakness Stakes. Well, that box is now checked following his win aboard National Treasure in the 2023 Preakness. Velazquez will be back on National Treasure as they attempt to take down two of this year’s three Triple Crown races by winning the Belmont Stakes. Velazquez has participated in a stunning 25 Belmonts, having won the race twice. That’s a credit to him still getting top billing on major race days some 33 years into a career that has seen him win more than 6,500 races. Other highlights for Velazquez include 19 Breeders’ Cup World Championship wins and having crossed the wire first in four Kentucky Derbys (with one horse later disqualified).