Meet jockeys of the 2026 Kentucky Derby. Are there 4 riders with extra motivation to win?

Among the roster of jockeys expected to ride in the 2026 Kentucky Derby are five previous winners and seven first-time riders.

Yet the most motivated competitor riding in the 152nd Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs will likely come from neither the prior winners nor the first timers.

It likely is one of the following four riders.

There are two jockeys in this year’s Derby — Manny Franco and Jose Ortiz — whose career-best finish in the Run for the Roses is second.

One of Saturday’s jockeys, Luis Saez, won his first Kentucky Derby in 2019 aboard Maximum Security only to see the victory overturned by track stewards who ruled that Saez and his mount had interfered with other horses during the race.

Then there is Irad Ortiz Jr., generally considered the most-accomplished active jockey in North American Thoroughbred horse racing. He has never finished better than fourth in nine prior Kentucky Derby rides.

Below is what you need to know about each rider (jockeys are listed in alphabetical order) in Saturday’s race:

Alex Achard

— Horse: Great White

— Trainer: John Ennis

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby

— Did you know: A native of Sains-Morainvillers, Picardy, France, Achard, 34, moved his tack to the United States in 2018, starting out with Indiana Grand (now Horseshoe Indianapolis) as his base.

Only Grade I victory for Achard to date came aboard the gelding In Love in the 2021 Keeneland Turf Mile. Achard has ridden Great White, also a gelding, in all four of the horse’s career races.

Junior Alvarado

— Horse: Chief Wallabee

— Trainer: Bill Mott

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In his sixth attempt, won the Run for the Roses last year aboard Sovereignty. Prior to his 2025 victory, best Kentucky Derby finish came in his first try, a fourth-place aboard Mohaymen in 2016.

— Did you know? A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Alavarado, 39, is a second-generation jockey whose father, Rafael Alvarado, rode in Venezuela.

Prior to winning the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes last year on Sovereignty, Alvarado was best known for riding Cody’s Wish, the two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile champion and 2023 Horse of the Year.

Hector Berrios

— Horse: Intrepido

— Trainer: Jeff Mullins

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby.

— Did you know? A 39-year-old native of Santiago, Chile, Berrios launched his career in his native country, winning over 2,500 races prior to moving his tack to the United States in 2011. He went back to Chile in 2014, only to return to the U.S. for good in 2018.

Last year, Berrios won the biggest race of his U.S. career to date, capturing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies aboard Super Corredora.

Javier Castellano

— Horse: The Puma

— Trainer: Gustavo Delgado

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: After starting out 0 of 15 in the Derby, Castellano had a sweet 16 in the 2023 Run for the Roses, winning aboard Mage.

— Did you know? Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Castellano, 48, comes from a family of riders: His late father, an uncle and his brother, Abel, were all jockeys.

Castellano won the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Jockey in North America four straight years — 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Christopher Elliott

— Horse: Right to Party

— Trainer: Kenny McPeek

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby.

— Did you know? At age 20, it is believed that Elliott will be the youngest rider to contest a Kentucky Derby since Fernando Jara, a Panamanian jockey rode, Jazil to a fourth-place finish in 2006 and Cowtown Cat to a 20th-place finish in 2007 as an 18- and 19-year-old, respectively.

Elliott is the son of Stewart Elliott, best known as the jockey who rode Smarty Jones to wins in the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

Manny Franco

— Horse: Albus

— Trainer: Riley Mott

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In six prior Derbys, has a best finish of second on Tiz the Law in 2020. Was eighth in last year’s Kentucky Derby on East Avenue.

— Did you know? A native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, Franco, 31, has one win in a Triple Crown race and two in the Breeders’ Cup. Franco won the 2020 Belmont Stakes aboard Tiz the Law.

He captured the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Sharing and the 2024 Juvenile Fillies aboard Immersive.

Martin Garcia

— Horse: Litmus Test

— Trainer: Bob Baffert

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In five previous Derbys, has a best finish of third on Dortmund in 2015.

Last year, Garcia rode in the Kentucky Derby for the first time in 10 years, finishing 15th on Citizen Bull.

— Did you know? Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Garcia, 41, has one Triple Crown win, the 2010 Preakness Stakes on Lookin At Lucky.

Garcia has won five Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2014 Classic on Bayern.

Brian Hernandez Jr.

— Horse: Six Speed

— Trainer: Bhupat Seemar

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In his fifth Kentucky Derby in 2024, Hernandez turned in a daring, ground-saving ride along the rail that was just enough to get Mystik Dan home first in a three-way photo finish with Sierra Leone and Forever Young.

Last year, in his sixth Derby, Hernandez finished sixth on Burnham Square.

— Did you know? Hernandez, 40, has returned to riding after suffering seven broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a lacerated liver in a fall at Churchill Downs on Sept. 21, 2025.

A native of Lafayette, La., Hernandez in 2024 became only the eighth jockey to win the Kentucky Oaks (Thorpedo Anna) and the Kentucky Derby (Mystik Dan) in the same year.

Juan Hernandez

— Horse: Potente

— Trainer: Bob Baffert

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby.

— Did you know? A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Hernandez, 34, has never won a Breeders’ Cup race — but has been second six times and third twice.

Primarily based in Southern California, Hernandez has become a frequent rider for trainer Bob Baffert.

Edwin Maldonado

— Horse: Pavlovian

— Trainer: Doug O’Neill

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby

— Did you know? Raised in Puerto Rico, Maldonado is known as one of the best “pace jockeys” riding on the Southern California circuit.

Of getting his first chance to ride in the Kentucky Derby at age 43, Maldonado told The Blood-Horse “It’s a dream come true.”

Atsuya Nishimura

— Horse: Danon Bourbon

— Trainer: Manabu Ikezoe

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby

— Did you know? Nishimura, 26, began riding horses as a boy. In 2015, he enrolled in the Japan Racing Association jockey academy. By 2018, Nishimura had become a working jockey, and he has subsequently won 18 graded stakes races.

This weekend will be the first time Nishimura has competed in North America.

Irad Ortiz Jr.

— Horse: Renegade

— Trainer: Todd Pletcher

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: On nine previous Derby mounts, best finish was fourth, aboard Improbable in 2019.

— Did you know? A product of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Ortiz, 33, has won the Eclipse Award as North America’s Outstanding Jockey five times — 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Ortiz has led North American riders in total wins nine years in a row.

His only Triple Crown race wins have both come in the Belmont Stakes, aboard Creator in 2016 and Mo Donegal in 2022.

Jose Ortiz

— Horse: Golden Tempo

— Trainer: Cherie DeVaux

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In 10 previous Derby rides, has a second, aboard Good Magic in 2018, and a third, on Tacitus in 2019.

— Did you know? The 32-year-old native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, is the younger brother of jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and the husband of former jockey Taylor Rice. Jose Ortiz moved his tack from New York to Kentucky in 2024 and has become a top-tier rider in the commonwealth.

The younger Ortiz also has two wins in Triple Crown races, having ridden Tapwrit to victory in the 2017 Belmont Stakes and Early Voting to the win in the 2022 Preakness Stakes.

Flavien Prat

— Horse: Emerging Market

— Trainer: Chad Brown

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: Out of eight prior Derby rides, has only one finish worse than fourth. Prat has a designated Derby victory (Country House was placed first by Churchill Downs stewards in 2019 after the disqualification of on-the-track winner Maximum Security), a second, four thirds and a fourth.

— Did you know?A native of Melun, France, Prat, 33, has ridden in 16 Triple Crown races. His only finish worse than fourth in those 16 rides came aboard Solomini, who finished 10th in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

Prat has nine Breeders’ Cup wins, including the Classic in 2022 on Flightline and in 2024 on Sierra Leone.

Joseph D. Ramos

— Horse: Ocelli

— Trainer: D. Whitworth Beckman

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: One. Rode Flying Mohawk to an 18th-place finish in 2025.

— Did you know? A product of Carolina, Puerto Rico, Ramos, 26, saw his career ascent as a jockey interrupted by a severe motorcycle accident suffered in January 2024, that left him with a broken clavicle, hairline skull fractures, brain bleed and a severe road rash. After eight months of physical rehabilitation, Ramos returned to riding in September 2024.

After moving his tack from his native Puerto Rico, Ramos built his name riding primarily at Turfway Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis, where he was leading rider in 2023 and 2024.

Luis Saez

— Horse: Commandment

— Trainer: Brad Cox

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In 12 prior Derbys, his best official finish is third in 2021 on Essential Quality. Knew the thrill of winning the Kentucky Derby for around 18 minutes in 2019 after he booted Maximum Security across the finish line first. Subsequently, lost the victory when Churchill Downs stewards ruled Maximum Security had interfered with two other horses on the far turn.

— Did you know? A native of Panama City, Panama, Saez, 33, won the 2021 Belmont Stakes aboard Essential Quality. He dedicated the victory to his brother, Juan, who was a 17-year-old apprentice jockey when he died from injuries suffered in a racing accident in 2014 at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino (now Horseshoe Indianapolis).

Ryusei Sakai

— Horse: Wonder Dean

— Trainer: Daisuke Takayanagi

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: Came agonizingly close to winning in his sole prior Derby in 2024 when his mount, a hard-charging Forever Young, ended up third in a three-horse photo finish with winner Mystik Dan and runner-up Sierra Leone.

— Did you know? After their Kentucky Derby near miss, Sakai, 28, and Forever Young came back to win the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic and to twice win the Saudi Cup.

Mike Smith

— Horse: So Happy

— Trainer: Mark Glatt

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: From a record 28 mounts, has won the Run for the Roses twice, aboard Giacomo in 2005 and on eventual Triple Crown-winner Justify in 2018.

— Did you know? A Roswell, New Mexico, native, Smith, 59, would be the oldest jockey ever to win a Kentucky Derby. Presently, Bill Shoemaker, who was 54 when he won on Ferdinand in 1986, holds that distinction.

Jaime Torres

— Horse: Incredibolt

— Trainer: Riley Mott

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: First Kentucky Derby.

— Did you know? Though also from Puerto Rico, Torres, 27, is not related to Cristian Torres.

Jaime Torres already has a Triple Crown race win on his record. He rode Seize the Grey to victory in the 2024 Preakness Stakes for the iconic trainer D.Wayne Lukas.

John Velazquez

— Horse: Further Ado

— Trainer: Brad Cox

— Past Kentucky Derby rides: In 26 attempts, has won the Derby three times — 2011 on Animal Kingdom; 2017 on Always Dreaming; and 2020 on Authentic.

Won a fourth Kentucky Derby on the track aboard Medina Spirit but subsequently lost it when the horse was disqualified after post-race drug test found a banned substance.

— Did you know? A native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, Velazquez, 54, has won 22 Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2020 Classic on Authentic.