To most people, it is the horse that goes on to become more famous than the riders, but now and again it is the jockeys who get the fame. This list of ten world class and world famous jockeys is not one that features names everyone has heard of, but for those in the know, this is a list of the best of the best horse riders in the world…
Patrick ‘Pat’ Eddery
10 – Patrick ‘Pat’ Eddery – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 4,632)
Wiki Info: Patrick James John “Pat” Eddery was an Irish flat racing jockey and horse trainer. He rode three winners of the Epsom Derby, and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He is co-holder of the record for most title championships as well as wins in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Lester Piggott
9 – Lester Piggott – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 4,493)
Wiki Info: Lester Keith Piggott is a retired English professional jockey. With 4,493 career wins, including nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest flat racing jockeys of all time and the originator of a much imitated style.
Jorge Velásquez
8 – Jorge Velásquez – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 5,491)
Wiki Info: In 1978 he became nationally famous for being one of the jockeys involved in probably the greatest rivalry in racing history. He finished second aboard Alydar to Affirmed in all three of the 1978 American Triple Crown races, losing by a combined total of less than two lengths.
Larry Lloyd Snyder
7 – Larry Lloyd Snyder – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 5,736)
Wiki Info: Larry Lloyd Snyder is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey whose career spanned thirty-five years from 1960 to 1994. In the early 1960s he began competing at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas where he would win eight riding titles.
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Jerry D. Bailey
6 – Jerry D. Bailey – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 5,893)
Wiki Info: Bailey was born in Dallas but raised in El Paso. He had a pony as a child and became interested in thoroughbred racing at age 11 when his father, James, a dentist, claimed some horses at nearby Sunland Park Racetrack in New Mexico.
Angel Cordero Jr
5 – Angel Cordero Jr. – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 5,896)
Wiki Info: Angel Tomas Cordero Jr. (born: November 8, 1942 [1]) is one of the leading thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of all time and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the United States’ Racing Hall of Fame.
Johnny Longden
4 – Johnny Longden – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 6,032)
Wiki Info: John Eric “Johnny” Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame jockey who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to Canada in 1909, settling in Taber, Alberta.
Bill Shoemaker
3 – Bill Shoemaker – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 8,833)
Wiki Info: Two of Shoemaker’s most noted rides were in the Kentucky Derby. He lost the 1957 Kentucky Derby aboard Gallant Man, when he stood up in the stirrups too soon, having misjudged the finish line.
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Laffit Pincay Jr.
2 – Laffit Pincay Jr. – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 9, 530)
Wiki Info: Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. was once flat racing’s winningest all-time jockey, still holding second place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the United States.
Russell Baze
1 – Russell Baze – (Total Wins Before Retirement or So Far: 10,927)
Wiki Info: Born to an American family, Baze’s father, Joe Baze, is a former jockey and trainer who was competing at Exhibition Park in Vancouver at the time of his birth giving him dual Canadian/American citizenship.