Despite concerns about its diminishing popularity, horse racing has managed to stay relevant thanks to many contributing factors. A day at the track still holds prestige and interest for many, and the industry has adapted to new technologies and social trends, such as offering access through online gambling platforms. This includes those listed in casinos.com’s post about free SC coins.
As horse racing has found ways to stay relevant, jockeys have remained essential; after all, they’re the ones who steer the horses past the finish line. Throughout the years of formal horse racing, many jockeys have risen to international fame. Here, we’ll share the most famous of these jockeys and provide insight into what has made them so famous.
1. William “Bill” Shoemaker
American jockey William Shoemaker, better known simply as Bill, has earned a reputation for being one of the best jockeys of the 20th century, and looking at his race history, it’s hard to disagree. Shoemaker won major US horse racing events, including the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Preakness Stakes, multiple times. His final Kentucky Derby win was also record-breaking, making Shoemaker the oldest jockey in the sport’s history to win the Derby.
Shoemaker was seemingly born for the life of a jockey, weighing an astonishing one pound, 13 ounces at birth and only reaching 98 pounds and a height of 4’11” as an adult. He started racing when he was just six years old, and it turned into a lifelong passion that he continued even after an accident left him paralyzed. He passed away in 2003 after a life filled with many impressive accomplishments.
2. Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori
Italian-born Frankie Dettori has thousands of races under his belt and hundreds of wins. He’s considered a living legend and is a bit of a showman on the track. After a win, he launches himself off his horse and lands with a flourish reminiscent of a professional gymnast. He’s known for winning all seven events at the Royal Ascot in one year, a feat known as “The Magnificent Seven.” But these aren’t the only notable wins to his name—Dettori has also won “The Golden Nine,” a title referring to his nine Ascot Gold Cup wins.
Part of Dettori’s fame was fueled by his survival in a plane crash alongside fellow jockey Ray Cochrane in 2000. Dettori announced he would retire at the end of 2023 but then changed his plans, winning even more races in 2024. This living legend seems to have no intention of walking away from the tracks anytime soon.
3. Lester Piggott
English jockey Lester Piggott had a connection with horse racing since birth, as both his parents and their families were involved with the sport. His father was a jockey and trainer, his grandfather competed in steeplechase races, and his mother came from a family with a history in horse racing. In his career, he won many well-known English races, including the Epsom Derby, which he won nine times, and the English Triple Crown.
At just 12 years old, Piggott won his first race and continued horse racing for decades, retiring in 1985. After this, he worked as a trainer and ended up serving time for tax evasion—and this became a notable event for more than one reason. The first reason was that he was a famed jockey, and this was an unexpected criminal charge. The second was that he’d been given the Officer of the Order of the British Empire several years before this and was forced to return the honor by the Queen.
Shortly after his release from prison, he returned to the tracks, winning even more races in Ireland and the US. He retired again, this time for good, in 1995. He passed in 2022 but remains a controversial and widely recognized horse racing personality.
4. John R. Velazquez
With thousands of wins, John Velazquez is an accomplished jockey and the leading North American jockey in winnings, earning more than $476,000,000. He won his first major race, the Belmont Stakes, in 2007. He then won at other major American horse racing events, including the Kentucky Derby, which he’s now won multiple times. He’s also won the Breeders Cup 15 times and the Triple Crown six times.
Velazquez began his jockey career in his home country of Puerto Rico and then moved to the US in the 1990s to continue his work. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2012 and still competes.
5. Laffit Pincay Jr.
Another incredibly famous and skilled jockey is Laffit Pincay Jr., who came to the United States from Panama in 1966 to start his jockey career. He has many major wins and accomplishments to his name, winning eight of his first eleven races and going on to win the Triple Crown, the Breeders Cup, and many other races multiple times. He was also awarded the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey five times.
By the time he retired in 2003, he held the record for the most wins of all time, allowing him to walk away from his career on a high. However, retirement wasn’t the happy affair it sounded like. After falling from his horse, Pincay broke his neck and had no choice but to retire.
Conclusion
Throughout the history of horse racing, many great jockeys have emerged. Even decades after their retirements, they remain topics of discussion. Some have garnered attention for their skill and showboating, while others have a controversial personality that garnered significant attention. Each of them had numerous wins and showcased a remarkable level of skill that won’t soon be forgotten.
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