NEW ORLEANS – He’s riding with more confidence at this Fair Grounds meet. He’s demonstrating patience. And he’s riding better horses. In a variety of ways, Mitchell Murrill, who made his Fair Grounds debut last season as an apprentice, is a more polished jockey in his first local season as a journeyman. The results certainly are backing up the point. Through Monday’s races, Murrill had 15 victories from 115 mounts and was tied for fourth in the jockeys’ standings. From 324 mounts last season, he won 23 races and finished 12th in the standings. “I feel more comfortable on a horse now that I’ve won a few races,” Murrill said. “I can trust myself and trust my horse to do his job. I’m reading the races a little better, how things are going to set up, and learning how to handicap races.” A 21-year-old native of Mobile, Ala., Murrill didn’t grow up around horses. He ran cross country and played soccer in high school. Murrill’s riding education started when he was 16 and working for a Quarter Horse trainer. His professional riding career began in 2013 at the Delta Downs Quarter Horse meet. After riding at the Fair Grounds Quarter Horse meet that year, he gained more experience on horseback by saddle-breaking babies at a farm in Alabama. Murrill turned to Thoroughbreds at the Evangeline Downs meet in 2014. Helpful lessons in handicapping and planning strategy came from Louisiana veteran Gerard Melancon and his son, jockey Jansen Melancon, Murrill said. “Gerard really helped me a lot,” said Murrill, who said he spends about an hour the night before the races and an hour on race day handicapping and looking at video. Murrill came to Fair Grounds this year with momentum established from a successful season at Arlington Park. He won 72 races from 427 mounts there and finished second in the standings, eight wins behind Jose Valdivia. “I got to ride a lot of horses,’’ Murrill said. “[Trainer] Mike Stidham had a big part in that, still does to this day.’’ Stidham put Murrill on his first stakes winner, Jockamo’s Song, who made a strong rally from midpack under Murrill to win the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint on Dec. 12 – a victory that the jockey called his “biggest thrill so far.” Tucker Alonzo is another trainer who has provided steady business for Murrill. “He’s a good little rider,” Alonzo said. “He listens. That’s the main thing.” Murrill understands that he has a lot to learn, and that Fair Grounds is an excellent classroom. “With the riders and the horses and the horsemen, it’s a good experience, a good learning place,” he said.