Charles Town: Which jockeys are in the zone?

With the 2023 Charles Town meet now a couple of weeks old – just long enough, perhaps, to discern some useful trends – we decided to take a look at the jockeys’ standings.

Using a metric combinging win percentage, in-the-money percentage, and return on the wagering dollar, we’ve rated the CT jocks. The number are current prior to the day’s races on January 25.

It’s worth remembering it’s early days in the meet, and some jocks off to slow starts will pick it up as the year continues, while some others may hit some bumpy spots. Still: Who are helping the bettors out? And who aren’t?

On a scale where a rating of 100 will be at or near the top of the colony, the top five are:

  1. Justin Lewis: 90. Who? Bug boy Justin Lewis made his first start last September at Pimlico but didn’t start getting regular race mounts until November. He’s off to a good start this year, winning at a 17% clip while finishing in the money 49% of the time. Most crucially to bettors: if you’d played every one of his horses this year, you’d be turning a tidy 37% profit.
  2. Christian Hiraldo: 83. The veteran has only won with four of 36 mounts – 11% — but his +40% ROI is the best locally among jocks with at least 20 starts.
  3. Marshall Mendez: 70. Off a productive apprenticeship, Mendez has made the jump to journeyman without incident and continues to get plenty of live mounts (he’s named on 22 horses this coming racing weekend). He’s winning at a 13% clip with a +16% ROI.
  4. Arnaldo Bocachica: 67. No, the longtime local kingpin hasn’t lost his touch. He’s winning a gaudy 33%, and his horses are in the money 59% of the time. But that -15% ROI makes him a tough play in the win spot and drags his score down a bit.
  5. Carlos Lopez: 63. Not unlike Bocachica, Lopez has good win and ITM numbers somewhat offset by a negative ROI. His 57% ITM rate is second only to Boca’s among riders with 20 or more starts.

ALL CHARLES TOWN JOCKEYS WITH AT LEAST 20 STARTS AND 1 WIN

NameStartsWin%ITM%ROI%Score
Lewis Justin M4117%49%37%90
Hiraldo Christian3611%36%40%83
Mendez Marshall5213%44%16%70
Bocachica Arnaldo4633%59%-15%67
Lopez Carlos Eduardo4221%57%-8%63
Araujo Denis2917%48%-8%57
Latchman Reshawn4622%50%-38%40
Baez Jan M316%29%-15%38
Bocachica Orlando417%32%-41%21
Rodriguez Victor3811%53%-70%10
Ho Wesley239%30%-57%10
Peltroche Fredy2914%38%-71%7
Ramgeet Andre R383%24%-54%6
Thorpe Darius415%34%-91%-15

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