Bettors put their money in the hands of jockeys every time they place a wager. This is why they are among the most scrutinized parts of the racing industry.
Ranking the best jockeys can be extremely subjective. Depending on who you ask and their history with betting on the rider, a given jockey could be in one person's top 10 and another person's bottom 10.
By factoring in earnings, wins, win percentage and in-the-money percentage, HRN has complied a list of the 20 most reliable jockeys of 2020. Only jockeys winning at 15 percent or higher with earnings topping $2 million were considered.
| Jockey | Earnings (millions) | Wins | Win % | ITM % | Dirt % | Turf % | Stakes % |
| Irad Ortiz Jr. | $19.7 | 269 | 23 | 56 | 25 | 22 | 23 |
| Flavien Prat | $10.9 | 184 | 24 | 57 | 23 | 25 | 26 |
| Luis Saez | $15.5 | 235 | 19 | 49 | 20 | 18 | 19 |
| Joel Rosario | $17.0 | 180 | 19 | 53 | 20 | 18 | 18 |
| Tyler Gaffalione | $14.5 | 238 | 20 | 49 | 19 | 21 | 15 |
| Florent Geroux | $13.6 | 140 | 19 | 43 | 20 | 16 | 19 |
| Jose Ortiz | $13.0 | 177 | 19 | 50 | 18 | 19 | 12 |
| John Velazquez | $13.7 | 94 | 15 | 44 | 18 | 12 | 10 |
| Umberto Rispoli | $6.6 | 122 | 20 | 50 | 13 | 24 | 18 |
| Javier Castellano | $12.5 | 108 | 17 | 50 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Juan Hernandez | $5.5 | 191 | 23 | 56 | 27 | 14 | 11 |
| Paco Lopez | $7.0 | 177 | 19 | 51 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
| Pablo Morales | $2.6 | 150 | 25 | 56 | 26 | 25 | 12 |
| Ricardo Santana Jr. | $11.9 | 167 | 17 | 44 | 19 | 9 | 16 |
| Emisael Jaramillo | $6.5 | 189 | 17 | 43 | 18 | 15 | 21 |
| Mike Smith | $4.5 | 45 | 19 | 47 | 25 | 15 | 16 |
| Edgard Zayas | $6.4 | 207 | 17 | 45 | 17 | 16 | 14 |
| David Cabrera | $4.3 | 210 | 20 | 56 | 22 | 13 | 18 |
| Manny Franco | $11.5 | 132 | 15 | 42 | 18 | 8 | 13 |
| Jose Lezcano | $7.3 | 111 | 16 | 48 | 17 | 15 | 14 |
It important to note that some jockeys are much better on turf than they are on dirt and vice-versa.
Best bets on dirt
Juan Hernandez - 27%
Pablo Morales - 26%
Irad Ortiz Jr. - 25%
Mike Smith - 25%
Best bets on turf
Flavien Prat - 25%
Pablo Morales - 25%
Umberto Rispoli - 24%
Irad Ortiz Jr. - 22%
Biggest surface differences
Juan Hernandez - 13% better on dirt
Umberto Rispoli - 11% better on turf
Ricardo Santana Jr. - 10% better on dirt
Manny Franco - 10% better on dirt
Mike Smith - 10% better on dirt
Best bets in stakes races
Flavien Prat - 26%
Irad Ortiz Jr. - 23%
Emisael Jaramillo - 21%
Paco Lopez - 20%
Best ROI among those listed
Umberto Rispoli: - 0.03
Juan Hernandez: - 0.03
Jose Lezcano: - 0.08
Pablo Morales: - 0.10
