Victor Espinoza is a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Since coming to the United States, Victor Espinoza has developed into one of the country's top jockeys. In 2000, was his big break when he won the Breeders' Cup Distaff

Breeders' Cup Distaff

The Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Distaff from its inception in 1984 through 2007, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders'...

 aboard Spain

Spain (horse)

Spain is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who retired as the richest mare in North American racing history.Bred and raced by Prince Ahmed bin Salman's The Thoroughbred Corp., Spain was out of the race-winning mare, Drina...

 and in 2002 captured both the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 and the Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 with War Emblem

War Emblem

War Emblem was the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2002. His Derby time was 2:01.13. Victor Espinoza was his jockey for the Derby, never having seen the horse until the morning of the race. War Emblem, who went off at 21-to-1 odds, gave trainer Bob Baffert his third Derby...

.

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (2000–present)
!Peak
position
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|27
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|20