Who are jockeys in 2025 Kentucky Derby? Records, Run for the Roses horse for all 19 riders

If odds are any indication, the famed rose garland for the 151st Kentucky Derby will most likely go to a first-time winner.

Five jockeys are projected to make their Derby debut on May 3: Luan Machado (Final Gambit), Juan Vargas (Coal Battle), Nik Juarez (American Promise), Joao Moreira (Luxor Cafe) and Joseph Ramos (Flying Mohawk). Ten others are back looking for their first victory.

But one especially experienced rider is poised to make history with a win this year.

Brian Hernandez Jr. is back after riding Mystik Dan to victory in 2024, meaning he would become the seventh jockey to win consecutive Kentucky Derbies should he and Burnham Square emerge victorious.

Three other past winners, Joel Rosario, Flavien Prat and Javier Castellano, will ride as well.

Here’s a look at the field as it currently stands for Derby 151:

Jose Ortiz

Kentucky Derby horse: Sandman

Jose Ortiz is making his 10th Derby start and seeking his first win after placing second in 2018 with Good Magic and third in 2019 with Tacitus. The 31-year-old Puerto Rican jockey ranked in the top four in earnings (4th) and wins (2nd) in 2024, according to his Equibase profile. He has 98 wins and 123 other top-three finishes across 407 starts in 2025.

Brian Hernandez Jr.

Kentucky Derby horse: Burnham Square

Hernandez Jr. is back after riding Mystik Dan to victory in 2024 and looking to become the seventh jockey to win consecutive Kentucky Derbies (joining Isaac Murphy 1890-91, Jimmy Winkfield 1901-02, Ron Turcotte 1972-73, Eddie Delahoussaye 1982-83, Calvin Borel 2009-10 and Victor Espinoza 2014-15). Hernandez has 43 first-place finishes and 60 other top-three finishes across 249 starts this year.

Umberto Rispoli

Kentucky Derby horse: Journalism

Derby 151 is Umberto Rispoli’s third. He finished ninth with Endlessly last year — Rispoli’s best Derby showing. The 36-year-old Italian jockey has 44 wins and 64 other top-three finishes across 197 starts in 2025.

Joel Rosario

Kentucky Derby horse: Tiztastic

Rosario is making his 14th Derby start. He won with Orb in 2013. The 40-year-old Dominican jockey has 27 wins and 43 other top-three finishes across 193 starts in 2025.

Julien Leparoux

Kentucky Derby horse: Render Judgment

Leparoux is seeking his first victory in his 15th Derby start. The 41-year-old French jockey became the fourth to eclipse 500 wins at Keeneland in 2021 and is the track's leading active rider by victories. Leparoux has 23 victories and 44 other top-three finishes across 151 starts in 2025.

Junior Alvarado

Kentucky Derby horse: Sovereignty

Derby 151 is Junior Alvarado’s sixth. He’s looking for his first win after finishing fourth with Mohaymen in 2016 and sixth with Resilience in 2024. The 38-year-old Venezuelan jockey has 40 wins and 66 other top-three finishes across 254 starts in 2025.

Luan Machado

Kentucky Derby horse: Final Gambit

Machado is making his Kentucky Derby debut this year with Final Gambit. Machado was suspended twice in Kentucky last year, including once for four days from Churchill Downs and fined $1,000 last year after “easing up on his mount approaching the finish without adequate cause” while riding Hold My Bourbon on Nov. 28. Owner Gray V Train Racing and breeder Westbrook Stables filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court against Machado for breaching his contract and showing negligence as a professional jockey by failing to ride Hold My Bourbon “with full effort.” The Brazilian jockey has 58 wins and 104 other top-three finishes across 377 starts in 2025.

Juan Vargas

Kentucky Derby horse: Coal Battle

Vargas is making his Derby debut. The 43-year-old Peruvian jockey has been aboard Coal Battle for seven of his eight career starts. In 2025, they’ve won two of their three races together, including the Arkansas Derby. Vargas has 14 wins and 60 other top-three finishes across 242 starts this year.

Jareth Loveberry

Kentucky Derby horse: Chunk of Gold

Jareth Loveberry returns to the Derby after finishing second with Two Phil’s in 2023. The 37-year-old grew up on a farm in rural Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and began riding in the early 2000s. Loveberry has 43 wins and 77 other top-three finishes across 308 starts this year.

Martin Garcia

Kentucky Derby horse: Citizen Bull

Martin Garcia is returning for his fifth Kentucky Derby and first since 2015. Ten years ago, Garcia finished third — his best showing — with Dortmund. The 40-year-old Mexican jockey has two wins and 10 other top-three finishes across 46 starts in 2025.

Manny Franco

Kentucky Derby horse: East Avenue

Manny Franco is making his sixth Kentucky Derby start with East Avenue. Franco’s best finish came aboard Tiz the Law in 2020 (2nd), but Franco most recently finished fifth with Hit Show in 2023. The 30-year-old Puerto Rican jockey has 91 wins and 158 other top-three finishes across 407 starts in 2025.

Irad Ortiz Jr.

Kentucky Derby horse: Publisher

Irad Ortiz Jr. is making his ninth Derby start aboard Publisher. Ortiz most recently finished 13th with Domestic Product (2024), but his best finish came with Improbable in 2019 (fourth). The 32-year-old Puerto Rican jockey has 105 wins and 180 other top-three finishes across 510 starts in 2025. 

Nik Juarez

Kentucky Derby horse: American Promise

Juarez is making his Kentucky Derby debut aboard American Promise. The 31-year-old describes himself as a “fourth generation” rider. His mom, Carol Linton, galloped horses and rode until she was about 7 ½ months pregnant, and dad Calixto won a race at Delaware Park the day Juarez was born. He has 15 wins and 32 other top-three finishes across 136 starts this year.

Joseph Ramos

Kentucky Derby horse: Flying Mohawk

Ramos is participating in his first Kentucky Derby with Flying Mohawk. Ramos grew up as one of four siblings in Puerto Rico, where his high school math teacher was also a jockey agent and showed Ramos how to apply for jockey school. He has 50 wins and 63 other top-three finishes across 263 starts in 2025.

Flavien Prat

Kentucky Derby horse: Baeza

Flavien Prat, winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby with Country House, will participate in his eighth Run for the Roses aboard Baeza. This is Prat’s fifth consecutive Derby. The 32-year-old French jockey has 85 wins and 109 other top-three finishes across 313 starts in 2025.

Javier Castellano

Kentucky Derby horse: Owen Almighty

Castellano is making his 17th Kentucky Derby start with Owen Almighty and first since his victory with Mage in 2023. He comes from a racing family, as his father, uncle and brother Abel Jr. have all worked as jockeys. The 47-year-old Venezuelan jockey has 35 wins and 80 other top-three finishes across 272 starts in 2025.

Joao Moreira

Kentucky Derby horse: Luxor Cafe

Moreira will make his Kentucky Derby debut on Luxor Cafe, after they won the Fukuryu Stakes in March. The 41-year-old Brazilian jockey has four wins and two third-place finishes across eight starts in 2025.

Christophe Lemaire

Kentucky Derby horse: Admire Daytona

Christophe Lemaire will participate in his third Kentucky Derby after he and Admire Daytona won the UAE Derby on April 5. The 45-year-old French jockey has one other win across six starts in 2025 and a third-place finish, all in Japan. Lemaire previously finished sixth aboard Derma Sotogake in 2023 and 13th aboard Crown Pride in 2022.

Luis Saez

Kentucky Derby horse:Neoequos

Luis Saez will make his 12th Kentucky Derby start aboard Neoequos. Saez's best finish came with Essential Quality (third) in 2021. The 32-year-old Panamanian jockey has 92 wins and 165 other top-three finishes across 518 starts in 2025.

Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2025 jockeys for today's race at Churchill Downs