Jeiron Barbosa shares Jockey of the Week honors
Notched Ben’s Cat Stakes win with Witty
Press Release
June 24, 2026
Occasionally, the voting by the panel of racing experts leads to a tie for Jockey of the Week. But this week, the riding achievements between Jeiron Barbosa, Juan J. Hernandez and Irad Ortiz, Jr. led the panel to a rare triple dead heat for Jockey of the Week honors June 15-21.
Barbosa was at his home track of Laurel Park on Saturday, where trainer Elizabeth Merryman gave him a leg up on Witty in the Ben’s Cat Stakes. Off as the odds-on favorite in the scratched-down field of five, Witty raced in third up the backstretch. Barbosa inched the 7-year-old closer to the leaders on the turn taking the lead in the stretch for a half-length win in 1:08.77 for six furlongs.
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“Liz told me before the race not to rush him,” Barbosa said to Laurel publicity. “He’s just a nice horse. At the three-eighths, I thought it was time to go. I asked my horse, and he did everything.”
The win was the 13th of the seven-year-old Witty’s career, and it pushed his lifetime bankroll past the $1 million mark.
Barbosa also rides at Charles Town and made the trip to the West Virginia track for Saturday’s night time card. He was back at Laurel for Sunday’s 10-race card posting three winners for a total of eight wins for the week. The multiple leading rider at Laurel is currently in third place in the standings.
This week, Barbosa rides at Delaware, Colonial Downs, Charles Town, Laurel and Churchill Downs. He has 44 wins from 279 starters this year and 542 career winners overall.
Jockey Juan J. Hernandez had the riding opportunity of a lifetime during the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in Great Britain with three mounts for trainer Wesley Ward.
Hernandez was aboard Bacio in the Palace of Holyrood House Handicap for 3-year-olds at five furlongs on turf, beating 26 rivals.
Irad Ortiz, Jr. is well on his way to capturing his second leading rider title at Churchill Downs with 12 wins last week including the Chicago Stakes (G2) aboard odds-on favorite Eclatant for leading trainer and two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox. Eclatant needed every inch of the 1,234.5-feet stretch to catch Foie Gras in the final strides in a final time of 1:22.62 for seven furlongs.
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