Netflix‘s Race for the Crown has been released from the starting gate.
The six-episode docuseries — which follows horse owners and jockeys during the 2024 Triple Crown racing season — premiered on April 22, just weeks before the 2025 Kentucky Derby starts on May 3.
Popularized in the 1930s, the term “Triple Crown” refers to a series of three thoroughbred horse races: the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, the Preakness Stakes on the third Saturday in May and the Belmont Stakes, which takes place on either the first or second Saturday in June.
Three-year-old thoroughbreds are eligible to participate in the Triple Crown races, meaning a horse has just one opportunity in its lifetime to win all three races in a single season. To date, a mere 13 horses have secured the elusive title.
Race for the Crown takes audiences behind the scenes of the horse racing business. It’s a rare look at the often eccentric owners who have invested millions in top-notch trainers, daredevil jockeys and the world’s finest thoroughbreds.
“When your horse is coming to the line at a Triple Crown race, there’s nothing like it,” owner Michael Iavarone said in the docuseries. “They call it Derby dreaming — 20,000 horses born every year, 20 in that starting gate. That math is tough.”
Here’s everything to know about the cast of Race for the Crown.
Michael Iavarone
Michael Lavarone and wife Jules Lavarone.
Courtesy of Netflix© 2025
Iavarone is a horse owner from New York. He appears on Race for the Crown alongside his wife, Jules.
Known for turning heads at the race track in his flashy suits and signature sunglasses, Iavarone was first introduced to horse racing at 15 years old when he attended his first race, per FanDuel Racing.
In his early career, Iavarone sold penny stocks on Wall Street for four firms. In 1999, the National Association of Securities Dealers fined Iavarone $7,500 and suspended him for 10 days for allegedly buying and selling $22,000 in stock without the permission of his clients, per The New York Times.
In the early 2000s, Iavarone launched International Equine Acquisitions Holding (IEAH), a thoroughbred horse racing stable, according to FanDuel Racing. He solidified his place in racing history when his horse, Big Brown, won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2008.
Michael Repole
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Mike Repole at the 2024 Pegasus World Cup on January 27, 2024 in Hallandale Beach.
Horse owner Michael Repole is a successful entrepreneur.
He’s best known for co-founding brands including BODYARMOR and Glaceau — the maker of Vitaminwater and Smartwater. Those were sold to Coca-Cola for $5.6 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively. As of April 2025, Repole has a net worth of $1.6 billion, per Forbes.
The son of Italian immigrants, Repole was born and raised in Queens, N.Y., according to a 2018 interview with The New York Post. He bought his first horse in 2004 and won the Belmont Stakes with Mo Donegal in 2022, achieving his dream of winning that race.
“If you could only give me one, I might be the only person ever who says, ‘I want to win the Belmont Stakes,’ ” he told The New York Post. “It’s my New York roots. I grew up going to Aqueduct and Belmont Park. I’m always going to be Mike from Queens.”
Luis Saez
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Luis Saez celebrates atop Dornoch after winning the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 8, 2024 in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Luis Saez is a jockey from Panama.
He’s won two Triple Crown races: the Belmont Stakes in 2021 on Essential Quality and the Belmont Stakes in 2024 on Dornoch.
Brian Hernandez Jr.
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Brian J. Hernandez Jr. on top of Mystik Dan after winning the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 04, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Brian “B.J.” Hernandez Jr. is an American jockey hailing from Louisiana.
He won the 2024 Kentucky Derby on Mystik Dan.
Frankie Dettori
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Frankie Dettori riding Courage Mon Ami celebrates winning The Gold Cup during day three of Royal Ascot 2023 on June 22, 2023 in Ascot, England.
In his 50s, Frankie Dettori is one of the oldest jockeys still competing in the sport. He was born in Italy but spent most of his career in the U.K. His most famous achievement is riding all seven winners in seven races at Ascot Racecourse in September 1996.
In December 2022, Dettori announced that he would retire at the end of the 2023 season, but has since reversed that decision and moved to compete in the United States, per NBC Sports.
Katie Davis
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Katie Davis with her horse ‘Macho Boy’ is seen after the Saudi Cup on February 23, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Born in N.Y., jockey Katie Davis is among the few women in the sport. She has never won a Triple Crown race, however, she has more than 300 wins to her name.
Davis is the daughter of jockey Robbie Davis, who won 3,382 races from 1981 to 2002.
Umberto Rispoli
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Umberto Rispoli at Sha Tin Racecourse on December 15 , 2019 in Hong Kong.
Umberto Rispoli is a jockey from Italy. He is favored to win the 2025 Kentucky Derby on the horse Journalism, per the Courier Journal.
During past Derby appearances, he finished 14th on Brooklyn Strong in 2021 and ninth on Endlessly in 2024.
Antonio Fresu
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Antonio Fresu riding JB Strikes Back and winning the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes (Grade 2) race during the Classic Meet Opening day on December 26, 2024 in Arcadia.
Antonio Fresu is a jockey from Italy. The 2024 Kentucky Derby marked his first Triple Crown race, where he finished seventh on Stronghold.
Irad Ortiz Jr.
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Irad Ortiz Jr. reacts after winning the Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes on March 11, 2023 in Tampa, Florida.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was born and raised in Puerto Rico before moving to New York in 2011.
He’s won the Belmont Stakes race twice — in 2016 on Creator and in 2022 on Repole’s Mo Donegal.
José Ortiz
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Jose Ortiz #5 reacts after riding Early Voting to win the 147th Running of the Preakness Stakes on May 21, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland.
José Ortiz is a jockey from Puerto Rico and the younger brother of Irad Ortiz Jr.
He won at Belmont on Tapwrit in 2017 and at Preakness on Early Voting in 2022.
John R. Velazquez
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John Velazquez celebrates after winning the 148th Running of the Preakness Stakes on May 20, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland.
John R. Velazquez, who was born in Puerto Rico, is one of the most accomplished jockeys in the sport with six Triple Crown race victories, including three wins at the Kentucky Derby, two at the Belmont Stakes and one at the Preakness Stakes.
Velazquez is also North America’s all-time leader in purse earnings, with $493,711,522 in winnings, per the National Museum of Racing.
Javier Castellano
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Javier Castellano atop Arcangelo after winning the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 10, 2023 in Elmont, New York.
Javier Castellano, who hails from Venezuela, has been a jockey since 1996 and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2017, per the Courier Journal.
Castellano has won four Triple Crown titles. In 2023, he took home wins at both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes on Mage and Arcangelo, respectively. He also won the Preakness Stakes in 2006 and 2017 on Bernardini and Cloud Computing, respectively.
Flavien Prat
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Flavien Prat celebrates after winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf race on day two of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 2, 2024 in Del Mar, California.
Flavien Prat, a jockey from France, has been riding since he was 16, per Keeneland.
He won the Kentucky Derby on Country House in 2019, and two years later, he took first at the Preakness Stakes with Rombauer.
Florent Geroux
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Florent Geroux in the winners circle aboard Catch A Glimpse #4 after winning the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Fillies on October 30, 2015 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Also hailing from France, Florent Geroux entered jockey school at age 13 and began competitively riding four years later, per New Orleans Magazine.
He won the 2021 Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun.
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