Paco Lopez

[keithting]

Good article...Great stuff..

I'm happy to say that I have been betting on Paco since his Calder days.

However, I have noticed that Paco doesn't always get ride-backs.
This is unusual because of his talent level and high "batting average".

I know that it is difficult to book jockeys in this day and age of travel/commitments, but has there ever been a study of ROI for "ride-backs" versus "first time riders aboard"?

My belief is that a jockey that rides the animal regularly (race or workout) has a distinct advantage over the 1st time rider no matter the talent level.

So in my handicapping, I'd rather bet Paco 2nd time on a horse than Javier Castellano 1st time on a horse. The only exception is if Javier is riding for one of his regular outfits/trainers like Chad Brown, for instance.

Any opinions on this?