Jockey Bios

Luis Saez

Born: May 19, 1992, in Panama City, Panama

Record at Keeneland

Total Wins: 178

Stakes Wins: 26

Career Firsts

First Grade 1 Win: 2013 Travers aboard Will Take Charge

First Stakes Win: 2009 Needles Stakes at Calder aboard Cinnamon Road

First Graded Stakes Win: 2010 Tropical Park Handicap (G3) at Calder aboard Twilight Meteor

First Career Win: (in U.S.): Aug. 20, 2009, on Fearless Honor at Calder

Starters in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes

Year	Horse	Finish
2024	Dornoch	4th
2023	Tapit Trice	Won
2022	Emmanuel	3rd
2021	Essential Quality	Won
2019	So Alive	6th
2018	Sporting Chance	3rd
2016	Brody's Cause	Won

At Keeneland

Two titles as leading rider (2021 Spring, 2022 Fall).

During the 2024 Spring Meet, won the Ben Ali (G3) on Kingsbarns and the Lafayette on Glengarry.

Grade 1 wins are the Darley Alcibiades on Simply Ravishing and Candied; the Toyota Blue Grass on Brody's Cause, Essential Quality and Tapit Trice; the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity on Essential Quality; the Maker's Mark Mile on Shirl's Speight; the Juddmonte Spinster on Valiance; and the Shadwell Turf Mile on Grand Arch.

When Keeneland hosted the Breeders' Cup World Championships, rode winner Essential Quality

First Keeneland win came during the 2013 Fall Meet.

Career

Triple Crown win: 2021 Belmont on Essential Quality.

Breeders' Cup win: 2020 Juvenile on Essential Quality.

North American career earnings exceed $207 million with 3,456 wins through Mar. 31, 2024.

Posted 3,000th victory on June 5, 2022, at Belmont Park on Funny Joke in the sixth race.

Rode Maximum Security to win the world's richest horse race, the $20 million Saudi Cup, in February 2020.

Recorded 2,000th win Nov. 9, 2018, at Aqueduct when he won the fourth race on Y'allcomenow.

Equaled Gulfstream Park record when he rode seven winners there on Jan. 24, 2018.

Won five races at Belmont on May 31, 2013, that included back-to-back dead-heat wins.

Click here for his Equibase career record.

Background

Luis grew up on a farm in Panama and graduated from the famous Laffit Pincay Jr. Jockey School there in Dec. 2009. He won 37 races in his native country before coming to the U.S. to begin riding at Calder.