Meet the Jockeys for the 2023 Belmont Stakes

While this year's Belmont Stakes (G1) doesn't feature any horses that appear to be on the level of Secretariat, who completed a Triple Crown sweep in this race 50 years ago, a Belmont win 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 June 10 at Belmont Park. 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 (G1). 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 (G1). 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. Trained by Jena Antonucci for Blue Rose Farm, Arcangelo has been impressive in his two most recent starts highlighted by a win on the dirt at Belmont Park in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) 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. 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 New York Racing Association 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 victories. 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 (G3) and finishing second in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1), 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. 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 in 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 (G3) at Gulfstream Park aboard 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 Saturday. 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 Saturday. Considered the best horse in his division heading into the Triple Crown series, Forte's bids for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes were derailed by a late precautionary scratch and time off. 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 is the younger brother of 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. 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 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. 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 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 (G1) won by Angel of Empire. 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 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) with Saez aboard. Progeny of Tapit have had a lot of success in the Belmont Stakes in recent years, and that bodes well for Saez as he's slated to ride another Tapit colt Saturday, Tapit Trice. After winning the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and the 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. Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA 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).