Alvarado Named 2025 Male Venezuelan Athlete of the Year

[Wandering Eyes]

Capping off another tremendous year that included a win aboard Sovereignty (Into Mischief) in the GI Kentucky Derby, Junior Alvarado has been named the 2025 Male Venezuelan Athlete of the Year. He is the first jockey to ever earn the honor.

The Venezuelan Athlete of the Year is the most prestigious sporting honor in Venezuela. It has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Circle of Sports Journalists of Venezuela. This year's female winner was Yorgelis Salazar, whose field is karate.

“I was shocked, to be honest with you,” Alvarado said. “I knew I had been nominated but there never has been a jockey that has won this award. I remember when Gustavo Ávila won the Derby and Preakness with Canonero II back in the day. We all thought he was the one who had a big chance of winning the athlete of the year award. But he didn't. To be the first jockey to win is a big achievement. l can't even describe it. It is an amazing award. And I think that for our racing industry in my country, it is also a big win. It is more than just a big win for me. I am still on cloud nine. I wasn't expecting this.”

Through Dec. 29, Alvarado has won 116 races on the year and his mounts have earned $18,318,159. His biggest wins came aboard the Bill Mott-trained Sovereignty, who is the leading contender for the Horse of the Year title. In addition to the Derby, the pair teamed up to win the GII Fountain of Youth, the GI Belmont Stakes, the GII Jim Dandy and the GI Travers Stakes. Sovereignty did not run in the Breeders' Cup, but Alvarado still had a successful day, winning the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff with Scylla (Tapit).

“There were other people who were nominated, including some very good baseball players,” Alvarado said. “This Is the icing on the cake to get this award after the year that I had. I don't know if I will ever have another year like this again. I will try. But being honest, this is very hard to do. You have to have the horses to succeed. I'm just very grateful for all the opportunities I had.”

Alvarado rode his first winner on Dec. 30, 2005 at La Rinconada Hippodrome near Caracas, Venezuela. He came to the U.S. in 2007 and had his first American winner at Gulfstream Park in 2007. He was a regular on the Chicago circuit before coming to New York in 2010.

“I was always shooting for the stars when I was riding in Chicago and I always thought that was a good step forward to what I wanted to be,” he said. “My goal was always to be in New York. I knew that if I wanted to win the Kentucky Derby and other big races, and that if I wanted to be a somebody in this sport, I would need to ride in New York because that's where all the big horses are. That was always my goal ever since I was a little kid in Venezuela. The Kentucky Derby was the one race I always watched on television when I was a little kid. To win it this year was unbelievable. Then we kept adding to it…the Belmont, the Travers. It has been an amazing year.”

The award has been dominated by baseball players, including stars like Miguel Cabrera, Jose Altuve, Luis Aparicio, Johan Santana and Andres Galarraga.

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