Leparoux wins Woolf Award

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Julien Leparoux, a two-time Eclipse Award winner, will be honored with the 2026 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award next month, Santa Anita announced Monday.

The Woolf Award, which can be won once, honors a rider’s achievements as well as personal character. The award is determined by a vote among riders across the country.

Leparoux, 42, has won 3,066 races in North America through Sunday and is currently riding primarily at Turfway Park. He was honored with the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding apprentice jockey in 2006 and won the Eclipse as outstanding jockey in 2009. Leparoux is one of four riders to win Eclipse Awards in both categories.

A native of France, Leparoux has won seven Breeders’ Cup races in his career, including three at Santa Anita in 2009.

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“This is a proud moment,” Leparoux told Santa Anita publicity over the weekend. “This award is so unique and special. To be recognized by my fellow jockeys is really special.”

Leparoux is scheduled to travel to Santa Anita in April for an award ceremony.

First presented in 1950, the Woolf Award honors the memory of George Woolf, who rode Seabiscuit to a win in a famous 1938 match race against War Admiral. Woolf died as the result of injuries sustained in a spill at Santa Anita in 1946.

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