It’s no surprise two-time Eclipse Award winner Javier Castellano leads all jockeys in North America in wins this year, but how many racing fans could readily name the guy who ranks second? The jockey in question is Antonio Gallardo, who has dominated the standings at Tampa Bay Downs and Presque Isle Downs over the past two years, winning a pair of riding titles at both. As the Tampa meet begins its first full week Wednesday, Gallardo is entering his prime earnings season. The 28-year-old native of Cadiz, Spain, set a track record at Tampa last season with 147 wins and finished in the money with 314 of his 579 mounts (54 percent). He also set a track record at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania this year with 161 winners from 603 mounts (27 percent). Gallardo hit a rough patch at the Laurel Park fall meeting, winning with only four of his 57 mounts, but that recent cold streak won’t dissuade Tampa’s top trainers from putting him on their best stock. Kathleen O’Connell, a two-time leading trainer at Tampa, went 20 for 78 with Gallardo aboard her runners last season. Despite a solid 26 percent strike rate, those runners produced only a $1.69 return on investment, meaning that when Gallardo is on a live one, seemingly everyone takes notice. “I sometimes see that I’m on a horse that’s 10-1 in the program, and we go off as the favorite,” said Gallardo, whose agent is former jockey Mike Moran. “I think I have a good business right now. I have a great agent who puts me on the right horses, and I also know the track very well. I try to pay attention to how the track is playing, and I know when to make my move. I’m very patient, and some trainers say I have very good hands. Sometimes, a horse won’t relax for another jockey, but they relax for me, and that’s very important because if you get them to relax, they give you everything.” Gallardo’s career breakthrough came at Calder Race Course on Aug. 24, 2013, when he won four consecutive stakes, taking the Lindsay Frolic with Flat Out Charming, the Catcharisingstar with Secret Kitten, the Florida Stallion Susan’s Girl with Scandalous Act, and the Florida Stallion Affirmed with My Brown Eyed Guy. The last three of those wins came for O’Connell, and he’s been one of her go-to riders ever since. “Antonio has always been a big part of our team,” said O’Connell. “He’s a very good rider and a very good person. He knows how to study, he knows how to get along with horses, and he puts them in the right spots. He’s the complete package, and he has great hands.” “He seems to get a lot of run out of the horses,” said Gerald Bennett, for whom Gallardo won with 13 of 55 mounts last season. “He’s really good on the turf, too, because he tries to get a horse tucked in and save him for the last part. There are riders who always seem to be in the right spot at the right time, and he’s one of them.” Gallardo got his first win in 2006 at Costa del Sol in Spain. Trainer Jennifer Bidgood saw talent in the young rider and suggested he come to the U.S., but Gallardo said he was reluctant at first. Eventually, Bidgood bought him a plane ticket, and his American dream began. He now lives in Tampa with his wife and two children. “For me, being in the United States is like a dream,” he said. “I never thought that I could be here.” Gallardo got his first U.S. mount in 2008 and struggled to find success while racing mostly in south Florida, winning only 121 races from 2009-12. At several points, he considered returning to Spain, but he broke through with 101 wins and $2.02 million in purse winnings in 2013 and made a real leap forward last year, ranking sixth in North America with 268 wins and piling up $4.6 million in mount earnings. For 2015, Gallardo has 287 wins and $5.04 million in purse earnings through Friday, and he was within hailing distance of Castellano (310) for the lead in victories. But not all wins count the same. Castellano has won 45 graded stakes from 166 mounts this year, while Gallardo still is searching for the first graded win of his career, having gone winless in seven opportunities this year. That might change in the near future, however. Gallardo’s agent, Moran, said the jockey likely will pursue bigger paydays on the fiercely competitive Southern California circuit either after the Tampa meet or following one more meet at Presque Isle. “I believe that I have a great product to take there,” said Moran. “I wouldn’t go there with a lot of jockeys, but I think a lot of people out there will like the way he rides, and I think he moves up a lot of horses. I’ve had Antonio for two years, and it seems like he’s getting better and better. It’s worth a shot. We can always come back.”