Horse racing is without a doubt one of the oldest known sports to humanity. Throughout the years, it has managed to evolve a lot and take the form that we know today. Various breeds of horses are competing over certain types of tracks and the winner gets a majority of the prize purse.
Not only that, but the sport goes side-by-side with the betting industry. A majority of the fans are no strangers to placing bets on horse races. Thanks to sports betting, the sport is extremely profitable and entertaining.
With the rise of online sportsbooks, fans became able to wager on various horse racing events online. They can wager at any time and place after they register an account at platforms such as Ladbrokes.
What’s even better, is the fact that these platforms offer tons of bonuses and promotions that can boost your rewards. For example, you can click here for a bonus from Ladbrokes that you can claim and use on horse races. Keep in mind that each bonus, including those by Ladbrokes, comes with certain T&Cs that you need to meet.
As interesting as online sportsbooks may seem, we’re not here to talk about them. We’re here to talk about horse racing, specifically the best performing jockeys of all time. Without any further ado, let’s check them out.
Bill Shoemaker
Bill Shoemaker is viewed by many as the best horse racing jockey in history. In 1958, he got inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. One of the most impressive achievements that he had is the fact that Shoemaker held the record for most jockey wins for almost 3 decades.
His career began in 1949 and by the time he retired, he had 8,833 wins. Some of his most notable major race wins are Arlington Handicap (4), Del Mar Handicap (8), Kentucky Derby (3), Belmont Stakes (5) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Ruby Walsh
While Bill Shoemaker is viewed as the greatest jockey of all time, Ruby Walsh is the best jockey of the modern era. After winning the Punchestown Gold Cup in 2019, he decided to retire, but his legacy will forever live on.
His career total win is 2,756 and his domination in the Cheltenham Festival is one of the things that he’s most well known for. Between 2004 and 2017, Walsh was named the best jockey on 11 occasions. His last reward as the best jockey came in 2017.
Lester Piggot
There’s no denying the fact that horse racing can be a dangerous sport. That is why jockeys train from a young age, which is exactly the case with Lester Piggot. He started training when he was 10 years old and all of his hard work paid off.
By the time he retired, Piggot became well-known for his unique riding style. He was one of the youngest champions to record more than 100 wins in a single season. Of course, his success motivated many fellow jockeys to try and copy him, but they all failed.
Sir Gordon Richards
If there’s a jockey that had the most unique achievement in his career, it is Gordon Richards. He was the first horse racing jockey to be knighted. To this day, he remains the only flat jockey that has been knighted and during his career, he accumulated 4,870 wins.
Apart from the knighthood, Sir Gordon Richards is known for having the most wins in UK history. He passed away on November 10, 1986, at the age of 82.
Honourable Mentions
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, horse racing is one of the oldest sports known to humanity. Throughout the years, we’ve been able to witness numerous legends and that is why we want to make sure that we mention as many as we can.
It is only right to give them their flowers for the effort and contribution that they had to the sport. With that being said, we feel obliged to share the names of John R. Velazquez, Laffit Pincay, Jr, Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, Frankie Dettori and Mike E. Smith.
Each of these jockeys had a lot of success during their careers, managed to win millions in prize money and their achievements will forever be edged in history.