Bocachica led the West Virginia track in starts, wins, and earnings. Among regular CT riders, he also led in earnings per start and win percentage.

Bocachica, who is leading trainer Jeff Runco’s go-to rider, won 160 of 541 starts this year at Charles Town, good for a 30% strike rate. His mounts earned over $2.7 million at a $5,122 per start clip, nearly twice the track average per start of $2,652.

All of that gave Bocachica 4.58 points in our rating system, leaving him well clear of runner-up Fredy Peltroche. Peltroche, who was 12^th with 43 wins on the season, had 3.54 points after posting a wagering return on investment of +27%, the highest by far of any regular CT rider.

The rankings take into account win percentage, earnings per start, and wagering return on investment. Specific to each track, they compare each jockey to the average at the track, with the higher the score, the better. Jockeys who make fewer starts than the average at a given track see their scores reduced to minimize the impact on the standings of a rider who wins with, say, two of four starters.

The average at Charles Town was 2.70 points.

After Peltroche, Christian Hiraldo (3.48 points), Denis Araujo (3.43), and Gerald Almodovar (3.39) round out the top five. Almodovar and Hiraldo are second and third in wins, respectively, followed by Reshawn Latchman and Araujo. Latchman, who won 64 races, is eighth in the rankings with 3.19 points.

JOCKEY RANKINGS

While Bocachica finished atop the Charles Town standings in most categories, trainer Kevin Patterson shot to the head of the rankings with a small, high-percentage stable. Patterson won 31 of 78 starts at CT in 2020, good for a 40% strike rate but just eighth in the wins category and with just one-third of track wins leader Jeff Runco’s total of 93.

Patterson led all trainers who made at least 50 starts at CT – the average of the top 100 trainers there was 64 starts – in win percentage and earnings per start ($5,435 versus a track average of $2,823). He also had a +6% wagering ROI; the track average was roughly -18%.

All of that gave Patterson 5.16 points and the advantage over runner-up Anthony Farrior, who finished with 4.52 points after winning with 32% of his starters.

They were followed by local stalwarts John McKee (4.39 points), Tim Grams (3.77), and Jeff Runco (3.51). The average for all local trainers was 2.39. The rankings are determined in a fashion similar to the jockey ranks.

Runco led the track once again – for the 15^th consecutive year – by wins with 93. He was also second among local trainers with at least 50 starts in earnings per start, with $4,986.

Runco was followed in the wins category by Ronney Brown, Farrior, McKee, and Ollie Figgins, III. Brown finished 11^th in our rankings with 2.93 points, while Figgins was ninth (3.10).

The track’s leader in wagering ROI was Timothy Shanley. Shanley, who won with 10 of 114 starters in 2020, nevertheless posted a gaudy wagering ROI of +84%. Two of his 10 winners this year went off at more than 60-1. He finished 25^th in our rankings with 2.29 points.

TRAINER RANKINGS