He had flirted with a 20-year-old record in 2011, falling just shy of notching one of Canada’s most prized standards for jockeys. It was one of the most successful campaigns of any Woodbine jockey, a year in which Contreras took the riding title with 212 wins, nine short of Mickey Walls record, set in 1991.
Contreras, a native of Mexico City, had won the Queen’s Plate with Inglorious and the Prince of Wales and Breeders’ Stakes with Pender Harbour. He became the first rider to win the Canadian Triple Crown on more than one horse.
Those efforts earned him the recognition of Sovereign Award voters, as Contreras was named Canada’s champion rider, his first such accolade.