Jockey Julien Leparoux

Julien Leparoux, who won the Eclipse Award as top jockey in 2009, will be the featured guest on bloodhorse.com’s Talkin’ Horses podcast on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

By winning his second Eclipse Award after being voted champion apprentice rider in 2006, Leparoux joins such elite company as Steve Cauthen, Chris McCarron, and Kent Desormeuax to be honored in both categories. A native of France, Laparoux is the first European-born rider to be awarded the leading jockey Eclipse Award.

In 2009, Leparoux won spring riding titles at the Keeneland and Churchill Downs meets and tied with Calvin Borel for the fall Churchill meet title. On the Kentucky Derby Day card, Leparoux won two grade I races in a row, with Einstein in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (gr. IT) and Informed Decision in the Humana Distaff (gr. I).

Later in the year, he became the second jockey to ride three winners in the same year in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Leparoux was aboard Informed Decision in her Sentient Jet Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) win, rode She Be Wild to victory in the Grey Goose Juvenile Fillies (gr. I), and took the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) with Furthest Land. As a result of the hat-trick, Leparoux was honored with the Bill Shoemaker Award presented to the leading rider in the Breeders’ Cup.

Please submit your questions for Julien Leparoux below. The deadline for the questions is Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 5 PM ET.