Luis Contreras (born March 14, 1986) is a Mexican jockey since 2006. After starting his career in Mexico, Contreras started competing in the United States and Canada during the late 2000s. For his

graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is then ...

career, Contreras has won thirty six Grade III races, twenty two Grade II races and four Grade I races. At the

Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing The Canadian Triple Crown (branded as the OLG Canadian Triple Crown for sponsorship reasons) is a series of three Thoroughbred horse races run annually in Canada which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada. Established in 1959, the ser ...

, Contreras won the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

, Prince of Wales Stakes, and

Breeders' Stakes The Breeders' Stakes is a stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses foaled in Canada, first run in 1889. Since 1959, it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Held annually in August at Woodbine Racetrack in T ...

. His 2011 wins made him the first jockey to use two horses to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In 2014, Contreras came short of another Canadian Triple Crown after finishing tenth at the Breeders' Stakes following wins at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales. As part of the

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

, Contreras's best results were sixth at the

2018 Kentucky Derby The 2018 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2018 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, with a ...

and third at the 2014 Preakness Stakes. At the

Canadian Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing The Canadian Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing is a series of Canadian Thoroughbred horse races for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies inaugurated in 1999. The races consists of the: * Woodbine Oaks * Bison City Stakes * Wonder Where Stakes ...

, Contreras won the

Woodbine Oaks The Woodbine Oaks is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Inaugurated in 1956, it is the premier event for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara s ...

and

Bison City Stakes The Bison City Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Held during first week of July, it is open to Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies. Since the 1999 creation of the Canadian Triple ...

in 2011 and was fourth at the

Wonder Where Stakes The Wonder Where Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1965 at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Held during the end of July/first week in August, it is the third leg of Canadian Triple Tiara series for Canadian-foal ...

that year. For the

American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three-year-old fillies. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in New Y ...

, Contreras placed sixth at the 2011

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

. With his

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

races between 2011 and 2018, his highest finish was runner-up at the Filly and Mare Sprint event at the 2017 Breeders' Cup. While winning over 2,400 races in his career, Contreras received the

Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey The Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. Part of the Sovereign Awards, the "Outstanding Jockey" laurel is similar to the Eclipse Award given to ...

in 2011 and 2012.

Early life

On March 14, 1986, Contreras was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Growing up, Contreras had hundreds of wins in Mexico after he started his jockey career as a teenager. While racing in Mexico, Contreras had two runner-ups and one top five finish in 2006.

Racing career

Contreras began competing in the United States in 2007 at races held in California and New Mexico. That year, his victories at

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closing of t ...

in 2007 gave Contreras his first American race win and first

stakes race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

win. In 2008, Contreras had his first ever

win at the 2008

El Camino Real Derby The El Camino Real Derby is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race held in February at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. The race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on Tapeta, a synthetic ra ...

as a Grade III race. From 2009 to 2010, Contreras was a jockey for

Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen (born November 18, 1965) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The leading trainer in North America by wins, he is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National Mu ...

in Toronto while on a work permit before he was fired by Asmussen. In 2010, Contreras could work solely for non-Canadian trainers due to his permit. That year, Contreras thought about leaving Canada before he received an open work permit. Throughout his career, Contreras won at least one Grade III race consecutively between 2011 and 2022. Of his thirty six Grade III wins, Contreras had seven of them in 2013 ranging from the

Grey Stakes The Grey Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. A Grade III, it is open to two-year-old horses and is raced on dirt at a distance of miles. Since 2006, the d ...

to the

Highlander Stakes The Highlander Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Run in mid to late June, the Grade II race is open to horses aged three and older. Raced over a distance of six furlongs on turf, it ...

. Contreras won his first of twenty two Grade II events at the 2009

Dance Smartly Stakes The Dance Smartly Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race run annually during July at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Grade II stakes race raced on turf, it is open to horses three years of age and older Inaugurated in 1986, it was ...

. From 2011 to 2022, Contreras won at least one Grade II race except for 2020. During this time period, Contreras won the

Canadian Stakes The Canadian Stakes is a Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Run in mid September, it is a Grade II event open to fillies and mares, three years of age and older. It is raced on turf o ...

four times with his victories in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019. As a Grade I racer, Contreras's first win was at the 2014

Carter Handicap The Carter Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older run over a distance of seven furlongs run annually in early April at Aqueduct Racetrack. Race history First run in 1895, the race was named for Br ...

. Contreras additionally won the

Northern Dancer Turf Stakes The Northern Dancer Turf Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario in mid-September. A Grade I event with a current purse of Can$300,000, it is run at a distance of miles on Woodbine's E. ...

consecutively from 2017 to 2018 and the 2019 E. P. Taylor Stakes.

Triple Crowns

At the

, Contreras was tenth at the 2010

. The following year, Contreras was the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown winner with his wins at the

, Prince of Wales Stakes and Breeders' Stakes. During the Canadian Triple Crown in 2011, Contreras had five horses to choose from for the Queen's Plate. With Inglorious and

Pender Harbour Pender Harbour is a harbour community on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, on the east side of Malaspina Strait. The harbour itself is an intricate amalgam of bays and coves that encroach inland for five kilometres and provide over 60 kilometres ...

, Contreras was the first jockey to use two horses to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In 2014, Contreras re-won the Breeders' Stakes after having top three finishes at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales. During the 2016 Triple Crown, Contreras was the winner at the Prince of Wales and the runner-up at the Queen's Plate. In 2017, Contreras missed his second Triple Crown after he was tenth at the Breeders' Stakes following his wins at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales. In 2018, Contreras was runner-up at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales. The following year, Contreras was second at the Breeders' Stakes and third at the Queen's Plate. Additional top three finishes by Contreras were first place at the 2020 Breeders' Stakes and third place at the 2021 Queen's Plate. In the

, Contreras was eighteenth at the 2012 Kentucky Derby and sixth at the

. At the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

, Contreras had a third-place finish at the 2014 Preakness Stakes and was sixth during the

2018 Preakness Stakes The 2018 Preakness Stakes was the 143rd running of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the American Triple Crown. It was a Grade I stakes race with a purse of $1.5 million for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of miles (1.9 km ...

Triple Tiaras

For the

, Contreras won both the

and the

in 2011. Contreras failed to win the 2011 Triple Tiara after he finished fourth at the

. Contreras was also the runner-up at Woodbine Oaks in 2012 and 2016. He also finished second at Bison City in 2014. In 2017, Contreras won the Woodbine Oaks and Wonder Where Stakes while coming in fifth at Bison City. At the

, Contreras was sixth at the 2011

Breeders' Cup

Competing in the

Breeders' Cup Challenge The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and Yo ...

, Contreras qualified for the Juvenile Fillies Turf event at the

2011 Breeders' Cup The 2011 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 28th edition of thoroughbred racing's season ending premier event, and took place on November 4 and 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Friday The Breeders' Cup races were part of a 10 ...

with his win at the Natalma Stakes. After he did not appear at the Juvenile Fillies Turf event, Contreras was seventh in the Juvenile Fillies race and thirteenth at the Juvenile event. In other

editions, Contreras was sixth in the Juvenile event at the 2012 Breeders' Cup. In the Turf Sprint, Contreras had a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Breeders' Cup. The following year, Contreras was runner-up at the Filly and Mare Sprint event during the 2017 Breeders' Cup. While at the 2018 Breeders' Cup, Contreras raced at the Juvenile, Sprint and Dirt Mile. During these events, Contreras was third in the dirt mile, eighth in the sprint and eleventh in the juvenile.

Overall performance

In December 2018, Contreras won his 2,000th North American race while competing at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

. During his career, Contreras has won more than 2,400 races and accumulated over $104 million in prize winnings. In Equibase rankings for North American jockeys, Contreras was in the top 100 for earnings since 2009 and top 100 for wins from 2010 to 2020. His best performances during these years were a seventh place earnings rank in 2011 and a thirteenth place wins rank in 2017. Contreras also received the

in 2011 and 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Luis 1986 births Mexican jockeys Sovereign Award winners Living people