Julien Leparoux Voted 2026 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award Winner

Julien Leparoux received the 2026 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award on March 23 after a nationwide vote of his fellow riders, Santa Anita Park announced. The 42-year-old native of France, who has spent two decades riding in the United States, earned the honor that has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950 for riders whose careers and personal character bring esteem to both the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

"This is a proud moment," Leparoux said by phone from Kentucky. "This award is so unique and special. To be recognized by my fellow jockeys is really special."

Because the winner is chosen entirely by a vote of fellow jockeys, the Woolf Award carries a weight that few honors in the sport can match. Leparoux will be recognized in a winner's circle ceremony at Santa Anita in April.

The résumé behind the vote is difficult to argue with. Leparoux won the Eclipse Award as North America's outstanding apprentice jockey in 2006, then claimed the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey in North America in 2009. That double makes him one of only four riders in history to win an Eclipse Award as both an apprentice and a journeyman, a distinction that underscores just how cleanly his talent translated from his early years to the highest level of the sport.

Leparoux came to the United States from France in 2005 and has been riding full-time at Turfway Park in Kentucky. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Shea, and their two sons, Mitchell, 10, and Vinn, 8. Shea is a daughter of the late trainer Mike Mitchell, who spent decades working the Southern California circuit, giving the family deep roots in the racing world on both sides of the country.

"It was my dream as a child to be jockey," Leparoux said. "To be able to live your dream for 20 years, and to know that you are respected by your colleagues, it means everything."

Twenty years in, the colleagues have answered.