2014 Leaders: Familiar Names at the Top
Image:
Description:
For the second straight year, Todd Pletcher, Javier Castellano, and Ken and Sarah Ramsey were North America's respective top trainer, jockey, and owners by earnings for 2014.
Pletcher, the six-time Eclipse Award winner who became racing's all-time leading trainer by stable earnings and went over the 1,000 stakes win mark in 2014, had horses that earned $22,476,736, with 240 winners from 999 starters during the year. Finishing a distant second was Chad Brown, whose stable sent out 147 winners from 581 starters and had earnings of $15,383,930.
Castellano, a native of Venezuela who garnered his initial Eclipse Award following his first jockeys' earnings title in 2013, finished the year with $25,056,464 earned from 1,365 mounts, with 315 winners. Joel Rosario finished second with $21,558,485, with 215 wins from 1,241 rides.
Irad Ortiz Jr., who along with his brother, Jose, finished one-two in the New York jockey standings for the year, was third nationally, with $20,270,828. With $16,544,167, Jose Oritz was fifth-leading jockey on the North American earnings list, following John Velazquez' $19,486,658.
Northern California's Russell Baze led North American jockeys in wins for the 13th time in his Hall of Fame career. Baze edged Castellano with 324 victories from 1,047 mounts, recording a 31% strike rate.
The Ramseys, who earned their third outstanding owner Eclipse in 2013, repeated as leading owners as their stable took in $10,544,148, with 153 wins from 628 starts. Kaleem Shah, who won the Breeders' Cup Calssic (gr. I) with Bayern, tallied $5,977,978 in stable earnings for second, with 29 winners from 81 starters.
The far-flung Midwest Thoroughbreds was represented by 992 starters with 219 wins and earnings of $5,704,723.
Bayern's seasonal earnings of $4,389,680 was tops in that category, as the colt won six of 10 starts. He was followed by Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner California Chrome, who earned $4,007,800, with six wins from nine starts.
Parx Racing-based Handsup Moneydown, a gelded son of Sharp Humor racing for owner/trainer Ramon Preciado, tallied the most wins last year with 11, followed by 10 for Florida-based Courtney Ryan, trained by Tamara Levy for IAB Stables.