Manny Franco, the jockey facing a whirlwind Breeders' Cup: 18 rides and 12 championship series races
The Puerto Rican reinsman is enjoying the finest season of his career, featuring six G1 victories and his first Saratogariding title. At Keeneland, he will suit up for nine different trainers as he seeks to add to his tally of two Breeders' Cup triumphs
LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Special for Turf Diario).— If there is anyone unlikely to find a moment's rest during the Breeders' Cup, it is Manny Franco. The 31-year-old Puerto Rican jockey, riding the crest of an extraordinary season in the United States, will take no fewer than 19 mounts between Friday and Saturday at Keeneland, including assignments in 13 of the 14 championship series events.
It is a staggering workload that reflects the rider's rapid professional growth—and explains why the phone of his agent,John Panagot, has become one of the busiest in American racing.
“We are busy. That's for sure,” acknowledged Panagot, in an understatement considering the mountain of activity ahead.
Franco arrives in Kentucky after fulfilling his Thursday commitments at Belmont Park, heading into a grueling slate of 10 rides on Friday and another 9 on Saturday, split between undercard events and Breeders' Cup features.
The sheer volume of opportunities is the direct product of a campaign that firmly established him among the nation's premier jockeys.
Throughout 2026, he has secured six G1 victories—matching his combined total from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons.
Four of those victories were achieved at Saratoga, where he captured his career-first summer meet riding title, one of the most fiercely contested honors in American racing.
“It feels surreal. I still feel like I'm on cloud nine,” Franco confessed when looking back on that milestone achievement.
A Loaded Roster of Commitments
Franco will see action in virtually every discipline, from sprint events to marathon routes on both dirt and turf.
On Friday, he is named to ride Brickyard Belle (Yaupon) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1), Scarlett Begonia (Life Is Good) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Citrus Springs (Olympiad) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), and had been slated to guide Gaudreau (Nyquist) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) before that runner was scratched.
He is also listed aboard Popcorn (Catholic Boy) for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), though the colt remains on the also-eligible list needing a defection to draw into the main body of the field.
Saturday's schedule promises even greater variety. He will partner Simply Joking (Practical Joke) in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), Roja (Karakontie) in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1), Moonlight (Audible) in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), Thought Process (Collected) in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), and Liam Smith (Midshipman) in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).
In addition, he will climb aboard Facteur Cheval (Ribchester) in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), Measure (Gun Runner) in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), and Test Score (Oscar Performance) in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1).
Remarkably, those 12 Breeders' Cup contenders belong to nine different trainers—a clear testament to the widespread respect Franco has earned far beyond his customary New York base.
“I work hard every day, and when you put in the work, the results show up. We've had great opportunities and top-class horses, and I always try to make the most of them,” the jockey explained.
Franco is no stranger to the winner's circle at the Breeders' Cup. His maiden victory came in 2019 when he guided Sharing (Speightstown) to victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Five years later, in 2024, he struck again aboard Immersive (Bernardini), winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Now he aims to build on that record during a championship weekend that finds him with an unprecedented level of support.
Curiously, the majority of the horses that carried him to G1 glory in 2026 will not compete at Keeneland. Leading Change (Gun Runner), My Gun's Loaded (Gun Runner), The Good Life (Life Is Good), and U. S. S. Valor (War of Will) were all sidelined from the Breeders' Cup for various reasons.
Among his top-level winners this season, the sole horse he will reunite with in the series is Test Score, hero of the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), who lines up in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1).
Another intriguing mount is Measure, his partner in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). Franco was in the irons for two of her three G1 placings, including her latest outing in the Cotillion Stakes (G1), where she finished third after encountering traffic trouble mid-race.
“At the 600-meter mark I had to wait a bit because two horses ahead of me were backing up. She always gives her all,” he noted following that effort.
Panagot took over Franco's book in 2022, and the pair have since worked systematically to broaden his footprint beyond the circuit in New York.
The overarching strategy focused on securing high-profile assignments in other jurisdictions, including for outfits Franco had never previously ridden for.
This year's Breeders' Cup is living proof of how successfully that vision has unfolded.
“When you have a season like Manny's, winning big races for different trainers on Saturdays, you enter a different conversation,” Panagot explained.
“Trainers start thinking: ‘We haven't used him yet, but everyone else is, he's winning for all of them, and he's available.Why not call him?’” he added.
The agent recalled setting a specific target a year or two ago: booking Breeders' Cup mounts on horses Franco had never ridden before.
“We wanted to be in the mix when a major horse was available without a confirmed rider. Now Manny is right in that conversation,” he emphasized.
For a jockey who built his career on daily groundwork and consistency, this weekend's packed book at Keenelandrepresents far more than just a busy schedule.
It is concrete proof that his name now circulates among the nation's top conditioners, regardless of where their barns are based.
With 19 mounts across two days, representation in 13 Breeders' Cup events, and a season already boasting six G1trophies, Manny Franco enters a golden opportunity to crown the defining year of his career.
The challenge now is to deliver—and as his book suggests, he will not lack for chances.
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