John R. Velazquez: 2025 Belmont Stakes Jockey Profile

Key Takeaways:

• In all of horse racing history, John Velazquez is one of the most accomplished jockeys and has under his belt three decades of experience, two Eclipse Awards, and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2012—plus winning six Triple Crown races and 21 Breeders’ Cup races.
• Velazquez also has the most Belmont Stakes rides in history, with 27 appearances and two victories, including Rags to Riches’ memorable win in 2007.
• In the 2025 Belmont Stakes, Velazquez will ride Crudo, a Todd Pletcher trainee who impressed in the Sir Barton Stakes and looks ready to take on tougher competition.

Jockey John Velazquez has been riding for three and a half decades, longer than some of his peers in the jockeys’ room have been alive. Over that time, he has established himself as one of the greatest ever to take the reins of a horse. He has won two Eclipse Awards for outstanding jockey, in 2004 and 2005, ranking as North America’s leading rider by earnings in both of those years. Even after being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, he has shown no signs of slowing down.

After attending jockey school in Puerto Rico, Velazquez came to the contiguous states at the age of 18, in 1990. He went straight to New York to ride, and has been a fixture on that circuit ever since. Velazquez finished second with his first-ever mount in the States, a maiden claimer at Aqueduct. He had his first winner stateside about two weeks later in a claiming race there on March 30, 1990. He was mentored by Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero, Jr., who went on to become his agent as well.

He won his first stakes race later that year with New York-bred Proud n’ Appeal in the Ticonderoga Handicap. His first graded stakes win came in June of the next year with Private Man in the Ohio Derby (G2) at Thistledown. It would be a few more years until he broke through at the top level, but that happened in October of 1995, when he rode Turk Passer to victory in the Turf Classic (G1) at Belmont. He won his first riding title the next year at Aqueduct, and his star rose swiftly after that.

Velazquez has won 228 Grade 1 races leading into Belmont Stakes weekend of 2025. Those include six Triple Crown races and 21 races at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. His most recent win at the Breeders’ Cup came just last year in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint with Straight No Chaser.

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John Velazquez in the Belmont Stakes

Being based in New York and riding at Belmont Park as often as he has, it is no surprise that John Velazquez has a lot of Belmont Stakes experience. He has ridden in the final jewel of the Triple Crown 27 times, the most of any jockey in history.

Velazquez won the Belmont Stakes for the first time in 2007 with Rags to Riches, when she won it over Curlin in a stretch battle for the ages. Rags to Riches was trained by Todd Pletcher, who also trains his 2025 Belmont horse, Crudo. His second Belmont Stakes win, and his most recent to date, came with Michael Matz trainee Union Rags in 2012.

John Velazquez in the Triple Crown

Of course, Velazquez has not only seen Triple Crown success in the Belmont. He has won every leg of the three-year-old classic series at least once.

Velazquez has ridden in the Kentucky Derby 26 times during his career—as many rides as Bill Shoemaker had, and only two behind the all-time leader in Kentucky Derby mounts, Mike Smith. Of those 26 rides in Churchill Downs’ signature race, Velazquez has won three times. His first victory came with Graham Motion trainee Animal Kingdom in 2011, who upset the run for the roses in his first try on dirt. He returned to the winners’ circle in 2017 with Always Dreaming, trained by Pletcher. Velazquez won the Kentucky Derby for the third time in 2020 with Bob Baffert trainee Authentic, who would go on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic with Velazquez in the irons as well, and earn Horse of the Year honors.

The Preakness Stakes is the Triple Crown race that Velazquez has ridden the fewest times, 14. For years, it was a case of close calls—he finished second in 2011 with Animal Kingdom, 2013 with Itsmyluckyday, and in 2020 with Authentic. Finally, he won his first Preakness Stakes in 2023 with the speedy Bob Baffert trainee National Treasure. He hit the board in the race in 2025, as well—though not with his Belmont mount Crudo, who instead raced earlier in the card. Velazquez guided Sandman to a late-running third behind Journalism in the race.

John Velazquez and 2025 Belmont Stakes Contender Crudo

Crudo, trained by Todd Pletcher, makes his Triple Crown debut in the Belmont Stakes. However, it will not be his first race with Velazquez in the irons. Velazquez is Crudo’s regular rider, and has been in the irons for all three of his previous starts.

Of course, Velazquez often rides promising horses for Pletcher. In addition to Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, he has been the regular rider on other Pletcher stars over the years like Breeders’ Cup Turf winner English Channel, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Fierceness, and Kentucky Oaks winners Malathaat and Ashado.

Maiden Company

Crudo made his debut February 8 at Gulfstream Park. The public was keen on him, betting him down to 9-10 favoritism. However, the son of Justify had a rough start, stumbling and getting bumped around. He still showed some interest, getting involved and battling on the pace for a while with Ranger Battalion and X Y Prime. He was in contention to mid-stretch, but after all of that, Crudo ran out of steam in the final furlong, flattening to finish fourth, beaten 7 ¼ lengths by Multiverse, a horse who finished a narrow second in the Hutcheson at Gulfstream next out.

Velazquez was back in the saddle a little over two months later when Crudo returned April 19 at Keeneland. He stretched out a little bit for that effort, remaining at one turn but going an extended trip, about seven furlongs on the dirt. He was an even heavier favorite that day, just under 1-2. That time, he ran to it. After an uneventful start, Crudo bounced to the lead, and no one was able to touch him. He set an easy pace through the early stages, opened up when Velazquez asked him into the lane, and rolled clear to win by 7 ¼ lengths.

Sir Barton Stakes

Though Crudo did not contest the Preakness Stakes, he was one of the most impressive winners of that day at Pimlico. He stepped up from his maiden win into the Sir Barton, a 1 1/16-mile stakes race restricted to horses who had not yet won an open stakes race.

Breaking from the rail in a field of seven, Velazquez got Crudo out to the lead. He set an honest pace with odds-on favorite Invictus at his back. Even with that pressure, Crudo looked in control, and he began to pour it on when Velazquez asked him into the lane. He bounded well clear of the rest of the field as the favorite backed out, and crossed the wire 7 ½ lengths clear of late-running Just a Fair Shake in second. The win was emphatic—the kind that makes it clear Crudo deserves a shot against better horses, as well as the kind that makes it no surprise that no other horse from that field has turned up in the Belmont Stakes.

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