6/20/2025

(Auburn, WA) 12 riders won races last week and this is the first Power Rankings where if you won a race y0u might not crack the top 10. Two were left off and it came down to placing in the top 4 that gave a slight edge to others. We’re splitting hairs at this point. Remember these rankings are subjective and not based on a formula.

We take in account win percent, top 3 and top 4 percent, number of mounts, average odds riders are on to make our selections each week. Along with a simple gut feel. The Power Rankings are to give the human aspect of this game a little more exposure to what these incredible athletes go through to compete. It’s never to disparage a rider but focus on the biggest riding achievements of the week. 

Let’s get to Power Rankings #6!

Power Rankings #6    6/20/2025

1) Julien Couton

Julien Couton rockets to the top despite only 2 wins on the weekend. However, Couton has been on a heck of a run, lately winning 4 races over the past 5 days he had rides. He has had limited mounts with just 6 this past weekend. He tied with Juan Gutierrez for the highest win percent last weekend at 33% and a t top 3 finish rate of 67%. Couton a former riding Champ is 4-3-2 over his last 11 rides for a 36% win rate and 82% trifecta finish. He has hit the board 9 of his last 11 rides. Couton is our 4th top ranked rider of the season.

2) Alex Cruz

Cruz has been struggling to string wins together after his 4-win day last month. This past week he broke through with a 4-win weekend going 4-2-3-4 for a 19% win rate and 62% top 4 finish rate. Is this the turning point for Cruz? It won’t be a surprise to us if it is as the 5-time defending riding champ is facing his fiercest challenge yet to retain his title. 

3) Kiaman McGregor

Hot Mover!

Kiaman McGregor came to Emerald Downs last season and grinded away all season finishing 5-9-19 from 80 mounts finishing with a 6% win rate. Kiaman is beginning to heat up over the last 3 days he won his first 2 races of the season going 2-1-0-1 for a 29% win rate and 57% top 4 finish. On top of it the wins were 23-1 and 6-1. His average odds over the last 3 days were 14-1. This makes Kiaman our Hot Mover of the week.

4) Manny Americano

It’s hard to say a 4-2-2-4 record is #4 on our Power Rankings. But with success comes expectations. Americano leads all riders in mounts and he is getting many of the top favorites. Now this has been earned and not simply given to him but with success comes extended expectations and his 17% win rate and 52% top 4 finishes for the week were clearly a great week but it’s not anything we don’t expect from him at this point. Great week but checks in at #4. 

5) Kevin Krigger 

Here’s another rider where expectations are now higher and a week where Kevin Krigger goes 3-2-2-5 from 23 rides is obviously a great week and extending his consecutive win streak to 13 is having a terrific year. Too many 4th place finishes for Krigger this week. This is what we were saying about splitting hairs. These riders are all worthy of being #1 but we must make a decision each week. We won’t be shocked if Krigger lights it up like never before this weekend.

6) Carlos Montalvo 

Carlos Montalvo is one of the riders you can just watch and see him ride his ass off. He started slow this year and with the depth of the jockey’s room has fewer mounts than he had been getting over the past few years. He’s making the most of them recently and went 2-2-1-1 from 9 mounts and would have been better but was DQ’d from a 2nd place finish. His win percent was 22% and top 4 finish rate of 67%.

7) Juan Gutierrez 

The all-time leader at Emerald Downs is serving as his own jockey agent this year and has fewer rides than he has in the past and probably by choice. Gutierrez tied Couton for top win percent of the week at 33% going 2-0-1-0 from 6 starts and 50% top 3 finish. The old pro knows how to win, especially at this track.

8) Francisco Duran 

Newcomer to Emerald Downs Frank Alvarado got off to a quick start and won 6 times by May 18. He did so by winning in pairs with 2 wins on opening day, 2 wins on May 11 and 18. He then hit a cold streak and snapped that run on Sunday piloting 19-1 Chelan Summer to the win in the finale. Duran only had 4 rides last weekend and was 1-2-0-0 and his rides averaged out to be 10-1 each. Duran is a skilled veteran cannot sleep on him for sure.

9) Silvio Amador 

Silvio Amador was on top of the PRs in our 1st rankings and since then has been grinding outy a solid year. Amador is not getting the number of rides the leading riders are getting but he gets on some pretty darn good horses like El Bromista this last weekend. He’s 5th in the standings with 11 wins getting #11 on Sunday but 4th in earnings. Amador will have a chance to add to his earnings with 2 morning line favorites in the first two stakes races of the season on Sunday.

10) Frank Alvarado 

The longtime veteran is settling in and although not running up massive win counts is very consistent each week and finished last weekend with a 1-2-1-2 record from 12 rides. Alvarado is also battling the numbers game but is getting more chances on horses that are ready to win now than those that he had earlier in the season. We expect Alvarado’s production to keep moving forward through this very competitive season.

_____________________________

Power Rankings #5    6/13/2025

1) Manny Americano

Manny Americano holds onto his #1 spot with no questions asked. He won 6 races and finished with a 6-2-2-5 top finish record for the week from 20 rides. Thats a 30% win rate, 50% top 3 finish and 75% of the time he’s part of the Superfecta. Americano the clear #1. He won 4 of those races on Sunday for his 2nd 4-win day of the meet.

2) Kevin Krigger

Kevin Krigger did lose ground to Americano but did not give up the lead in the standings as he holds onto a 23-22 advantage and the both of them are more than double than Alex Cruz and Kevin Orozco tied for 3rd with 11 wins. Krigger went 4-4-2-1 from 19 mounts a 21% win rate. Krigger is also on a 10 consecuitve day streak with at least 1 win, the longest streak of the season so far.

3) Julien Couton

We’re bringing back our Hot Mover of the week and this week goes to Julien Couton who had 2 wins, 2 places and a show from 5 mounts. That’s a blistering 40% win clip, 80% exacta finish and 100% in the trifecta. He was on one favorite and his average odds for his 5 mounts was 7-1. He is the Hot Mover of the week coming from off the top 10 surging to #3.

4) David Haldar 

David Haldar dropped a couple of spots from last week’s #2 position to #4. Krigger had 2 more wins and he tied Couton but Couton is our Hot Mover of the week with a 100% trifecta finish. Haldar had 10 rides and won 20%, finished top 3 50% of the time and was in the top 4 60% of his rides. Haldar is really coming on and his consistency on the board is going to attract more and more trainers. We’re keeping an eye on this guy!

5) Silvio Amador 

The first #1 PR ranker of the season had hit a cool streak when he cracked the top 10 last week and moved up 5 spots with a pair of wins from 11 starts. Amador also had a couple of 2nds, a 3rd and 4th for an 18% win rate and 55% top 4 finish. Amador would have been the Hot Mover of the week had Couton not edged him out.

6) Alex Cruz

Alex got off to a fast start winning 2 races on Friday night where historically he has been very tough but could not add another win to his week. He also got stuck in a 4th place groove completing the superfecta 7 times this past week-end. The 5-time defending Champ has his work in front of him to defend and add to his state record win streak.

7) Kevin Orozco 

Kevin Orozco finished the season last year with 18 total wins. He’s scored another double this last week and has 11 wins. He’s on pace to win 38 races this year which iora 111% increase over last year. The one knock on him not finishing on the board as much as the others for the week. Orozco was 2-1-1-3 from 16 rides for a 13% win rate and 44% top 4 finish. But still a really good week for Orozco. We don’t expect to see him slow down.

8) Frank Alvarado

Frank Alvarado has won more than 4,000 races in his long career so when he got off to a bit of a slow start he wasn’t concerned that he forgot how to win. Alvarado is now starting to get in the groove here in Auburn with another solid week finishing with a superfecta of finishes with a 1-1-1-1 record from 8 mounts.

9) Carlos Montalvo

Carlos drops 4 spots but he continues to pick up after a slow start. Montalvo got 8 rides this past week and scored a win. He finished 1-0-2-1 for the week winning at 13%  and placing in the top 4 at 50%.  

10) Javier Matias

Javier Matias was the only non-winner to crack the top 10. Matias a longtime favorite at Emerald Downs is finding it tougher to get rides on a regular basis and had 6 this past week with 4 on Friday and just 1 on Saturday and Sunday. He finished 0-1-3-1 for 67% top 3 and 83% top 4 and his average odds were nearly 9-1. This Vet still rides hard and is gonna add value to your exotic bets. 

_____________________________

Power Rankings #4    6/6/2025

1) Manny Americano

Manny Americano moves up one spot to the top of the hill for the 1st time this season. Manny had 5 wins and went 5-3-2-2 for the week to easily claim this week’s #1 position on the Power Rankings. Manny will continue to use that apprentice weight allowance to his advantage. Amricano is expected to hold that apprentice into August so you know he’s going to try and take full advantage while he can.

2) David Haldar

David Haldar feels like he’s really finding his groove here in Auburn and was 2-0-0-1 from just 4 rides. Haldar shifted his tack from Western New York to the NW this year and he is really catching the eye of several trainers. Don’t be surprised if Haldar starts to pick up more and more rides. One to keep an eye on and you can catch some odds.

3) Kevin Krigger

Krigger is still in control and continues to rack up wins and now has a 7 consecutive day streak of having at least 1 win. Krigger went 2-0-3-2 from 11 rides this past weekend. Actually was one of his most tame weeks so far and yet still scored a pair of wins. 

4) Alex Cruz

Cruz is not in his usual position on top of the jockey standings and outside of a 4-win day it has been more of a grind for Cruz this year than ever before. Cruz is tied for 3rd with 9 wins but 9 behind leading rider Kevin Krigger. Cruz got one win over the weekend and added 3 places, 3 shows and a pair of 4th. The single win was pretty important, his career 1,000th.

5) Carlos Montalvo

Carlos Montalvo got his first win of the season with an old friend, Aloha Breeze. Aloha Breeze was also Montalvo’s 1st ever win at Emerald Downs when he moved to the NW in 2023. Montalvo was 1-4-0-0 from 7 rides. Best week of the year for Carlos so far.

6) Isaias Enriquez

Isaias Enriquez broke through 2 weeks ago with 2 wins. Enriquez is getting limited chances and is taking full advantage with a win and a place from his 3 rides, drops him 1 spot.

7) Frank Alvarado

Another veteran getting his first victory of the year. This is the first time Alvarado has come to Emerald Downs full time. It’s been a slow start for the veteran but he’s starting to heat up. We expect to see him in the winners circle on a regular basis.

8) Kevin Orozco

Orozco had held the longest streak of the season for wins in consecutive days at 7 but has now been tied by Kevin Krigger. But despite not continuing the streak Oroco is off to one of his best starts since he was an apprentice. Orozco is riding with confidence and is making his presence know as he is tied for 3rd in the standings with 9 wins.

9) Jennifer Whitaker

The last time Jennifer Whitaker won a race was in late September of 2023. Whitaker suffered a serious leg injury prior to the 2024 season and missed the entire year. She has only been on 4 rides this year and #4 was special winning on 28-1 Settler’s Cove for her first win in 20 months. Gives Whitaker her first appearance on the PW’s this season.

10) Silvio Amador

Silvio Amador got rolling early and was our first #1 PR this year. Since then he has been grinding out day after day and went 1-1-1-0 from just 5 rides. He remains near the top of the standings in 5th place with 8 wins. 

_____________________________

Power Rankings #3 5/30/2025

1) Kevin Krigger

Kevin Krigger has been in the winners circle 16 times already. He was 7-3-2-1 from 16 mounts last week winning at a brisk 44% clip. He’s 16-8-6 for the season with a massive 31% win rate. He’s 3rd in mounts so he’s efficient as well. Right now the year is a Krigger year!

2) Manny Americano

Manny Americano knows what it takes to win a riding championship after just achieving that at Turf Paradise and he’s still an apprentice. Americano is keeping Krigger in sight but somehow is still losing ground. Manny had 5 wins this past weekend and is 11-11-15 for an 18% win rate and a huge 60% top 3 finish. He’s still got to turn more of those places into wins.

3) Francisco Monroy

Francisco Monroy has found his groove as he scored a triple this past weekend. Monroy is not on the favorite often but he has 6 wins and is 6-2-5 for the season. He’s just 38% top 3 finish, we’d like to see him get a little more consistent in hitting the board. But he has to be rewarded for doubling his win total in one weekend.

4) Alex Cruz

Alex Cruz was 1 win away from likely moving to #1 as he won 3 races but need 4 wins for his 1,000th win of his career. After scoring #999, he literally placed 2nd 3 straight races and then finished 4th. Cruz was 3-4-2-3 last weekend. He still has his eye on a 6th straight riding title but has his work cut out for him, solid week.

5) Isaias Enriquez

One of the old pro’s getting it done. Enriquez had been shut out so far this year when he doubled on Monday including the feature race with Saleen G T. Enriquez 2-0-2 from 9 mounts and shoots his win percent from 0 to 22%. Good week for one of the many former riding camps in the jock’s room.

6) David Haldar

David Haldar keeps impressing the locals and continues to be very consistent. Not riding a lot of favorites Haldar got 2 wins last week and is now 4-2-9 from 31 total starts winning at 13% but in the trifecta 48% of the time.

7) Kevin Orozco

Kevin Orozco is off to a fast start this season and had strung together 7 straight days with at least 1 win. He missed on opening day and then got blanked on Monday to end his run. Orozco is tied for 3rd with 8 wins. Another solid week.

8) Juan Gutierrez

The winningest rider in Emerald Downs history is serving as his own agent and got back to the winners circle this weekend for the first time this year. Juan is going to be very discerning in the rides he takes and he has some good ones rounding into form, watch out!

9) Silvio Amador

Silvio Amador started the year blazing hot and has since cooled off a bit. He did get 1 win last weekend and looks ready to start heating up again. Amador knows hos way around the Auburn oval.

10) Francisco Duran

Despite not finding a win this past weekend, Duran still has 6 wins on the year. He hangs on in the 10 spot we expect him to heat up again. He won’t get blanked too often.

_________________________________

2nd edition Power Rankings 5/23/2025

1) Kevin Krigger

Kevin Krigger did not win 4 races in a day but he collected 3 over the weekend and is extremely consistent. Krigger has the 2nd highest win percent at 25%, top 3 at 47% and top 4 67%. He has a 3 win lead over a 4-way tie for second with 6 wins. If you want us to be nit-picky he has 4 places and 4 shows with 7 4th place finishes, we’d like to see that top 3 finish increase a little bit but that is really being nitpicky. Krigger is the early leader and can go wire-to-wire if the others can’t be more consistent.

2) Alex Cruz

The 5-time state record jockey Champ had a fire lit under him this weekend with 4 wins and going 4-4-1-1 with a huge chance to have had a 5, 6 or 7 win weekend had to settle for the 4. But he’s now 6th in the standings 4 behind Krigger and continues to get more rides than anyone by 10 so far so he is going to have more than a fair chance to get #6 in a row. Cruz doesn’t get the 1 spot because he did get all his wins on 1 day.

2) Manuel Americano

Same for Manny Americano, great day of 4 wins but he was skunked on Saturday. But we couldn’t separate Cruz and Americano so we went with the rare tie. Manny took quite some time last year to get rolling but once he did he was the hottest rider at the end of the Emerald season. He carried that over winning the Turf Paradise Championship and now he is back on track. As long as he gets to keep the bug he will have a bit of an advantage. Manny is going to have a say in the final results.

4) Kevin Orozco

A fan favorite, Kevin Orozco is simply one of the nicest people you’ll ever get to meet but this nice guy means business this year. He is tied for 2nd with 2 wins over the weekend. He has the 3rd highest win percent at 21% and has the longest win streak for the year right now with wins on 5 straight days missing only on opening day. Clearly right in the mix.

5) Francisco Duran

Francisco Duran  is tied for 2nd with 6 wins. He has the highest win percent of all at 30%. Duran makes the most of his chances but he wins in bunches with 3 days of double wins and 3 days he’s been shutout or didn’t ride. His top 3 and top 4 percent is the same at 50% meaning if doesn’t win right now he’s not hitting the board often with 10 top 3 placings from 20 starts and 0 4th place finishes. 

6) Julien Couton

Julien Couton is a former riding Champion at Emerald Downs but seems to be getting caught up in a numbers game with so many solid riders and the expanded number of riders. He got just 4 mounts last weekend but his big ride was replacing Jose Zunino on Slew’s Tiz Whiz and he blistered a good field. Slew’s Racing Crew have to be happy how Couton was able to step in immediately and find that magic with Slew.

7) Silvio Amador

Last week Silvio Amador was tied for the lead and won all the big races had a big lead in the money earned and was #1, but then gets shut out this past weekend. However, Amador still leads in money earned as he is tied for 2nd 3 wins behind Krigger. Don’t think Silvio is going into a big slump, look out this weekend.

8) Juan Gutierrez

The all-time leading rider at Emerald and also a former riding Champ is still searching for his 1st win but Guti is getting close going 0-2-1-1 from 6 starts last weekend. Gutierrez will break threw and must always be considered.

9) Francisco Diaz-Lopez

Francisco Diaz-Lopez gets few chances he had just 2 rides last week but won with Tieton River by more than 5 lengths. Diaz-Lopez is a favorite of many for his consistent hard work in the mornings. His 1st win on the year gets him in the top 10.

10) Jose Rodriguez

Another hard worker is Jose Rodriguez who is a busy in the mornings and gets limited chances in the afternoon. Rodriguez is still looking for his first win of the season but he did alot with the 3 rides he had going 0-0-2-1. He has 8 top 4 finish from his 12 starts this season for a 67% superfecta rate and at usually big odds. 

_______________________________

1st Power Rankings 5/17/2025

1) Silvio Amador

Silvio Amador is the only one with a 4 day win streak winning at least 1 race on all 4 racing days. He is tied at the top of the standings with 6 wins. His win percent is 33%, he hits the top 3 at 67% and is part of the superfecta 78% of the time. He also leads in earnings by nearly $20,000 sweeping the feature races this past weekend. And he began the year as the first one in the Winners Circle. Amador is 6-3-3-2 from 18 starts. No doubt Amador it #1. 

2) Kevin Krigger

Kevin Krigger began as hot as can be and is the only rider with a triple taking 3 wins on Kentucky Derby Day. He had a win on opening day and then doubled last Saturday to share the lead with Amador with 6 wins. He did get shut out on Sunday but you can’t leave him off your exotic bets. Krigger is 6-3-2-4 from 23 mounts for a26% win rate, 48% in the trifecta and 65% top 4. Clearly the #2 ranking.

3) Kevin Orozco

Kevin Orozco was the leading Stakes rider just a couple of seasons ago and has been here since his apprentice season skipping just one year. Orozco is a fan favorite and an Emerald veteran. He’s off to a great start and certainly one to have on your tickets. Out of the 12 wagers available Orozco is part of 9 of the highest paying returns to bettors. And he did it on 5 different horses, it wasn’t brining one longshot in early and being part of a bunch of the high returns. He is 4-3-1-2 winning at a 22% rate, top 3 at 44% and 56% superfecta finish. Our #3 pick.

4) Francisco Duran

Francisco Duran began as the lone rider doubling on opening day. Duran then doubled on Sunday to push his record to 4-3-1-0 from 14 rides for a 29% win clip. He’s 57% in the top 3 and 57% top 4 finishes. He’s not placed 4th yet and has wins on 2 of the 4 days. Duran is new to Emerald and already making it known he will have to be dealt with. Our #4 choice this week.

5) Francisco Monroy

Francisco Monroy another newcomer and has made waves for the big numbers he’s brought across the finish line winning with a 32-1 shot on Derby Day and 28-1 last Saturday then bringing home a 3-1 shot on Sunday for a 21-1 average win pay. Monroy is 3-0-3-2 from 13 rides winning at 23%, 38% in the trifecta and 62% top 4. We haven’t calculated his average win odds but it’s not 2-1 for sure. Monroy is getting the most out of the horses he is riding. Watch out!  

6) Manuel Americano

Yes Manny Americano is likely disappointed with only 2 wins from 20 rides for just a 10% win rate. But he is on the board and many of his rides the 2nd time won’t surprise us if they turn into wins. The apprentice who got his 1st win at Emerald last year is 2-5-7-3 with a 70% top 3 rate and 85% superfecta finish. The 70% top 3 and 85% top 4 are the highest of all the riders. He is our #6 in the opening PR’s.

7) David Haldar

Shipping in from Mahoning Valley and Fingerlakes in New York, David Haldar got his first wins this past Sunday at Emerald Downs winning back-to-back. This is after several strong showings and quickly is making a name for himself in the PNW. Haldar enters this week with a 2-2-4-0 record from 12 starts. He’s winning at 17% but hitting the board at 67% for both tri’s and supers. Haldar is just getting comfortable we expect a big season from him and he begins at #7.

8) Julien Couton

Julien Couton is a former Emerald Downs riding Champ and he’s still one to be concerned with if he’s not on your horse. Couton is off to a solid start riding 15 races with a 2-1-0-3 record winning 13%, top 3 at 20% and top 4 at 40%. We think Julien is just warming up and won’t be surprised to see him catch fire.

9) Alex Cruz

A pre-season Power Ranking would have had the 5 time riding Champion right at the top but it’s been a rough start for Cruz. He remains a popular target for trainers as he leads in mounts with 28. They know he knows how to win in Auburn but he’s got just 1 win and an overall record of 1-2-4-6. We expect many of the rides he’s had will get turned around when they start a second time. We wouldn’t count Cruz out anytime soon. he’s one that can get red hot and close the gap in a hurry.

10) Pablo Castillo

Pablo Castillo made his North American debut on opening debut as an apprentice jockey. Castillo needed just 2 tries to get his first career win when he scored in the 3rd race on opening day with Fantastic Dream, the 7-1 longest shot on the board in the 5 horse field winning by a clear length. Pablo has been shut out since then but he has been close and currently has ridden 13 races and is 1-3-1-4 for an 8% win rate, 38% top 3 and 69% top 4. Pretty good start for the new apprentice in Auburn.

www.elisportsnetwork.com