Flavien Prat – A rider’s rider continues to build success
At 0h03, on January 2, 2026 • By Aqueduct
One day after winning two Breeders’ Cup races for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert at Del Mar on November 1, Flavien Prat put an exclamation mark on the final day of the Belmont at The Big A fall meet by establishing a new NYRA record for most wins by a jockey on a single card with seven – including six consecutive – victories. Moreover, his try for an eighth fell just a head short in the finale of the 11-race card on which he had 10 mounts and finished second in each of his others.
The stellar day for the 33-year-old native of Melun, Siene-et-Marne, France was indicative of another banner year for the reigning Eclipse Award winner, who in 2024 set the single-year record for the most stakes wins [82] and broke the single-year record for graded stakes [56] that had stood since Hall of Famer Jerry Baily won 55 in 2003. In 2025, Prat won his first title in New York by topping the standings at the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet with 43 wins, and on the same track he hit the 2,000-win mark in North America aboard Iron Max on June 27 as part of a memorable five-win day.
Saratoga was also the scene for his success this year as for the first time he was the meet leader in earnings with $5,672,620.
Throughout the last year Prat was in a New York state of mind, winning 17 graded stakes at NYRA tracks, including four Grade 1s in the Whitney, the Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer, the Belmont Oaks Invitational and the Dunkin’ Diana; five Grade 2 events; and eight Grade 3 races.
In 2022, Prat decided, with the advice and counsel of his agent Brad Pegram and his wife Manon, to shift his focus to the NYRA tracks and compete on the toughest circuit in North America. In previous winters, he went back to California to ride at Santa Anita’s winter-spring meet. This year it’s a different story as he’s sticking around to ride at the Aqueduct winter meet.
