2019 Eclipse Awards: Julio Correa

Julio Correa established himself as the top apprentice rider in the United States last year when he won 126 races. For the accomplishment, he is a 2019 Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey in North America, alongside Angel Diaz, who is based in Puerto Rico, and Kazushi Kimura, who competes in Canada.

Correra spent most of his year riding in Maryland, which has produced 11 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockeys, according to the publicity department at Laurel Park. It was at Laurel where Correa achieved one of his most notable feats last year, upsetting kingpin Trevor McCarthy for the track’s summer riding title. Correa won four races on the final card of the meet for a 35-30 victory over McCarthy. He was the first apprentice to notch the summer title since Yomar Ortiz in 2013.

:: Full list of 2019 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

“This meet has been a surprise,” Correa told publicity at Laurel. “It’s really nice. Thank God, it’s been a good meet. Everybody has supported me and I appreciate that. I’ve been working hard in the morning for a lot of good trainers, and they gave me a chance.”

Correa had 830 mounts last year and those runners earned a collective $3,566,787, the most earnings by an apprentice in the U.S. in 2019. Correa also had 113 second-place finishes and 103 third-place finishes.

The 25-year-old native of Puerto Rico attended the commonwealth’s Escuela Vocacional Hipica, the jockey school whose graduates include Hall of Famer rider John Velazquez. Correa’s first win came Feb. 2 at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania. He moved to Maryland in March and New York in November.