Alex O. Solis is a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 based in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He currently lives in Glendora, California

Glendora, California

Glendora is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2010 census, the population of Glendora was 50,073....

 and rides predominantly in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

. He got his big break and his first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 with Snow Chief

Snow Chief

Snow Chief was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Bred by Carl Grinstead, in 1984 retired vaudevillian and successful real estate investor Ben Rochelle bought a fifty percent interest in Grinstead's Blue Diamond Ranch thus becoming a half owner of the yearling, Snow Chief...

.

In 2002, he was inducted in the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame.

Solis won two Breeders' Cup

Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...

 races in 2003 with Johar (who finished in a dead heat

Dead Heat

Dead Heat is a 1988 movie about an LAPD police officer, Roger Mortis , killed while attempting to arrest zombies who have been reanimated by the head of Dante Laboratories in order to carry out violent armed robberies.-Plot:...

) in the Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...

 and aboard Pleasantly Perfect

Pleasantly Perfect

Pleasantly Perfect is a Thoroughbred racehorse who retired as the fourth richest American horse in career earnings. A son of Pleasant Colony, winner of the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, he was out of the mare Regal State who won the 1985 Group One Prix Morny in France. His damsire was...

 in the Classic, both trained by Richard Mandella

Richard Mandella

Richard Eugene Mandella is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame....

. Also finished second aboard Mandella-trained Minister Eric in the Juvenile that year at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...

. He ended the year ranked fourth nationally in purse earnings with a career-best $16,304,252.

Alex Solis finished second in the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 three out of four years with Captain Bodgit in 1997, Victory Gallop in 1998 and Aptitude in 2000.

Winner of the 2006 Santa Anita Derby

Santa Anita Derby

The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...

 aboard Brother Derek

Brother Derek

Brother Derek is a thoroughbred horse. He was bred by Mary H. Caldwell and owned by Cecil N. Peacock.Trained by Dan Hendricks, Brother Derek began racing at age two in California...

.

On February 28, 2009, Solis won the Sham Stakes

Sham Stakes

The Sham Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Sham Stakes is open to three-year-olds and is held at one and one-eighth miles on the dirt...

 aboard The Pamplemousse

The Pamplemousse

The Pamplemousse is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a contender for the 2009 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown but had to withdraw due to injury. His regular jockey is Alex Solis.-Racing Career:...

, who is part-owned by his son, Alex Solis II.

Solis is one of the jockeys featured in Animal Planet

Animal Planet

Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...

's 2009 reality documentary, Jockeys.

On June 6, 2010, Solis rode Mandurah to a new world record for a mile on the turf at Monmouth Park. Mandurah set the world record in a $50,000 starter series and broke the previous record of 1:31.41 set by Mister Light in 2005 at Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....

 and now setting it to 1:31.23. It was the first ever start on turf for the six year old gelding and now the world record stands at 1:31.23 for one mile on the turf.

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"
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!Chart (2000–present)
!Peak
position
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
| style="text-align:center;"|35
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|37
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|30