Paco Lopez Biography – 2008 Eclipse Award Winner

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Paco Lopez's Bio

Paco Lopez is a Mexican professional jockey who has been racing for almost fifteen years. Image Source: Paco Lopez's Facebook.

Born Pascacio Lopez, Paco Lopez is a Mexican-born American jockey who started his professional career in 2007. He is well-known for his Eclipse Award win as an outstanding apprentice jockey in 2008. Additionally, the jockey has won various horse races throughout his profession, including Monmouth Cup and Breeders’ Cup.

So now, let’s know more about Paco Lopez’s net worth, occupation, wife, and more in this biography.

Lived Impoverished As A Child

Paco Lopez was born on October 17, 1985, in Tierra Blanca, Veracruz, Mexico. He has not revealed any details regarding his parents. Still, as per several sites, he grew up in poverty, and his family’s economic condition was relatively poor. So, the jockey left his home to live with one of his three sisters in 1997, when he was only twelve years old. He is also one of the six children of his mother and father.

During his stay with his sister, Lopez initially worked in a car wash and shined shoes for $30 a week. Afterward, he started working on a ranch and learned how to ride quarter horses. Eventually, it led him to start his horse racing career in Mexico.

Paco Lopez Net Worth And Career

As mentioned above, Lopez started his horse racing career in Mexico on unsanctioned, informal bush tracks. After riding on such unregulated tracks for a while, he moved to Florida in 2007 and continued his horse racing career there. Hence, Paco Lopez’s net worth is heavily influenced by his career as a jockey.

Due to his practice of racing on informal and unregulated horse tracks back in his home country, Lopez became known for his feisty style of racing. He won his 1000th race at Monmouth Park on August 17, 2012, reaching an important milestone in his career. Furthermore, the horse rider reached the 2,000-win plateau in December 2016 and has won more since.

Paco earned his first-ever Grade 1 win in the Woodward Stakes, riding Itsmyluckyday in 2014. He achieved two more Grade 1 victories in 2016 aboard Lukes Alley and in 2017 with Dickinson. In addition, the jockey also won the 2018 Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes with Red Ruby.

The talented jockey then became the regular rider of the famous sprinter Roy H in 2018 and won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint title the same year. He is currently being represented by his agent Cory Moran.

Following his successful and victorious profession as a horse track racer, the jockey must be making quite a fortune. So now, let’s take a look at some of Paco Lopez’s earnings in the past few years in the table below:

Year Earnings
2018 $9,540,051
2019 $10,925,338
2020 $8,066,865
2021 $12,462,326

Table Source: Equibase

As per Equibase, the professional jockey has accumulated around $118,956,410 with 16,139 starts. He earned $2,153,270 in the 2022 season alone. Since he is earning millions of dollars, Paco Lopez’s net worth must also be in multi-millions.

Also Read: Take A Look At Corey Lanerie’s Biography

Is Paco Lopez Married?

The answer to that is yes. The Mexican jockey is happily married to his partner, Rinada Lopez. Unfortunately, there is little to no information available about Paco Lopez’s wife.

Paco Lopez's Wife Rinada Lopez
Mexican-born professional jockey Paco Lopez is married to his wife, Rinada Lopez. Image Source: Paco Lopez’s Facebook.

Paco’s partner doesn’t seem to have any social media accounts. So, it’s hard to know who Rinada is as an individual. But, it seems the couple wants to enjoy their life together with each other in privacy. So, they probably want to stay away from the limelight.

Well, let’s hope the pair decide to share their married life in the upcoming days. Similarly, Mario Gutierrez is another professional jockey who is married.

Has Welcomed A Son

The Tierra Blanca native shares a child with his spouse. Paco Lopez’s son, Benny Luccaq, was born in 2010. When he was five years old, the Lopez family moved to a new house close to Monmouth Park.

Paco Lopez's Son Benny Luccaq
Paco Lopez shares a lovely son named Benny Luccaq with his wife, Rinada Lopez. Image Source: Paco Lopez’s Facebook.

Lopez’s little guy often appears on his Facebook posts. The father-son duo certainly has a strong bond with each other. We hope to know more about Benny in the upcoming days.

All in all, Paco must be living a comfortable life thanks to his substantial income. Well, the jockey’s career is still ongoing, so his wealth is also likely to increase. We wish Paco Lopez and his family lead a happy and prosperous life ahead.