Ready, Set, Gallop! Best Jockeys in the World, Pt. I.

They are light, yet strong, and they know more about horses than an encyclopedia. Yes, I’m talking about jockeys.

Although some people think that jockeys in a horse race have no real influence and it all boils down to the horse, we have evidence that shows otherwise.

• Being a jockey requires discipline
• They have to be strong and light
• Popular jockeys to bet on

There are specific physical characteristics and knowledge that a jockey has to possess; otherwise, they have no shot at winning. First and foremost, they have to be extremely strong: being able to guide the horse at high speeds is basically 50% of the job. It also helps a lot if they don’t weigh more than 60 kilograms…imagine that, strong but only 60 kilos. So, without further ado, here are the best jockeys in the world.

Tony McCoy

His first ever winner was at the age of 17. From then on, his career in horseracing advanced at high speed: for each year he has been a professional jockey, the Irishman was named Champion Jockey.

He has won nearly every prestigious championship, like the Queen Mother Champion Chase, King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. If he were still racing, he would be a very popular candidate to bet on online sportsbooks in the UK. He is popular in the UK; in 2010, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year title and in 2013, he became RTÉ’s Sports Person of the Year. He is taller than most jockeys, around 1.78 cm.

Rosie Napravnik

Rosie was born in the US, in 1988. The highest ranked female jockey in North America, she has won the Kentucky Oaks twice and was on the list for top ten jockeys who have earned the most. She is the only woman to win more than one Breeders’ Cup. In 2014, after she won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, she announced that she is pregnant and that she would be retiring for the time being. She lives with her husband, Joe Sharp, who used to be a jockey himself, but now is a horse trainer.

It is a known fact that only 10% of all jockeys are women, and to this, she said in an interview with Elle, “We are beyond the days of being boycotted. We are beyond the days before Civil Rights. So it has to do with the woman. It has to do with the individual and being able to compete as smart, as sharp as any man.”

Javier Castellano

Born in Venezuela, he started riding there, on La Rinconada and Santa Rita tracks. He moved to the US in 1997 were he achieved his first victories riding Ghostzapper. In total, he has had more than 4000 wins in North America, and has been awarded the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey title in 2013.

So far, during his career, he earned more than USD 26.2 million, which means that in 2013 and 2014 he was the jockey who earned most. Anyone who loves betting on sports in the USfavors him. Horseracing runs in his blood: his father, uncle and one of his brothers have all been jockeys. He has a wife and three children, and his father-in-law is national director of the Jockeys’ Guild.

Victor Espinoza

This Mexican-born jockey is also among the ones we absolutely have to mention on this list. Online sportsbook betters love him: he won the Kentucky Derby three times, the 2014 Windsor Castle Stakes at the Royal Ascot and won 16 races altogether. He came second riding California Chrome at the USD 10 million Dubai World Cup.

According to DRF, his best year was in 2006, when he accumulated more than USD 16 million and won 259 races. The two horses he often rides are American Pharoah and California Chrome.

John R. Velazquez

All-time leader in money earned with horseracing in North America, the Puerto Rican jockey is among the few ones to be added to the Horse Racing Hall of Fame. He has had more than 4,000 wins: Kentucky Oaks, Blue Grass Stakes, Woodbine Mile and Dubai World Cup just to mention a few.

His total earnings as a jockey surpass the almost ridiculous amount of USD 300,000,000. With so many wins, he is definitely a popular jockey to bet on if somebody prefers placing bets on mobile casino gambling sites.