Born: Nov. 19, 1992

Record at Oaklawn

Total wins: 485

Stakes wins: 34

• Through Dec. 4, jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. ranked eighth nationally in purse earnings with a career-high $15,978,576 in 2019. Previous best was $14,036,047 in 2018.
• Oaklawn’s leading rider in 2013-2018 and second last year with 73 victories and $4,317,757 in purse earnings, a single-season meet record. Set the previous Oaklawn record for single-season purse earnings ($4,240,304) in 2018.
• Won seven stakes races in 2019 at Oaklawn, including the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) aboard probable male sprint champion Mitole for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, the jockey’s major client. Recorded his 500^th victory for Asmussen aboard Bayern March 17, 2019, at Oaklawn.
• Mitole represented Santana’s first Breeders’ Cup winner in the $2 million Sprint (G1) Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
• Recorded his 1,000^th career North American victory April 12. 2018, at Oaklawn aboard the Asmussen-trained Westfest.
• Earned his first career Grade 1 victory aboard the Asmussen-trained Creator in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) in 2016 at Oaklawn. Santana’s first stakes victory also came at Oaklawn in the 2011 Spring Fever aboard Salty Wave.
• Santana earned his first career riding title in 2012 at Delaware Park. He tied for the riding title at the 2014 Churchill Downs September meeting and topped the Keeneland standings for the first time at the 2017 fall meet. Asmussen-trained Chanteline.
• Santana hails from Panama, which is also the birthplace of Hall of Fame jockeys Laffit Pincay Jr. and Braulio Baeza. Santana grew up in the poor Panama City neighborhood of El Chorrillo before graduating from the Laffit Pincay Jr. school for aspiring jockeys in December 2008.
• Santana was brought to the United States in 2009 by agent Ruben Munoz, who still represents the jockey. Santana recorded his first victory in the United States Sept. 21, 2009, at Delaware Park.