Horse racing is one of the most lucrative sports in the world, with mega-money contested in some of the biggest races on the calendar. However, unlike sports such as football and Formula 1, the stars involved in the sport of racing are typically overlooked when it comes to considering those that are worth high sums.
Jockeys compete in races worth millions of dollars throughout the season, but only the most successful can regularly pick up major funds from their big rides throughout the campaign. So, which jockeys are among the wealthiest in the world?
Yutaka Take may not be a household name for many racing fans from across the world, but he is a major star of the sport in his home country of Japan. The Asian star made his debut in racing in 1987 and is the proud record holder of all major honors in Japan.
In his native country, he has won a Grade One prize on at least one occasion in every year across the last 23 years, and he has won a graded stakes race in each of the last 36 years. However, Take has also achieved major success outside of Japan, recording 114 wins overseas in nations such as France, Australia, the United States, and United Kingdom. To date, he has won over $950 million on track, racking up over 5,000 winners.
Another Japanese rider ranks high in the net worth standings, as Norhiro Yokoyama sits second overall after winning $615 million during his racing career.
To date, he has recorded over 3,000 winners on track, and he became the oldest jockey in his home nation to win a Grade One prize earlier this season.
The 56-year-old started his career on track in 1986, winning his first Grade One in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 1990. A first major Classic victory would follow in 1991 when aboard Mejiro Ryan in the Takarazuka Kinen. Like Take, the vast majority of Yokoyama’s victories have come in the lucrative world of Japanese racing.
Few nations can rival the prize money on offer in Japan, but John Velazquez is the only non-Japanese rider that features in the top five list. Johnny V has won over $478 million during his esteemed career, winning over 6,500 times on tracks across the United States and Canada.
The rider has been the man for the big occasion throughout his career, winning at the Breeders’ Cup on over ten occasions, as well as landing Triple Crown victories with three wins in the Kentucky Derby as well as victories in the Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes. Velazquez’s position at the top of American racing has achieved his place as one of the all-time greats, and he has been named Champion Jockey in America on two occasions.
The highest earning European jockey in the world is Christophe Lemaire, who has won over $425 million throughout his career. The legendary French rider has achieved success throughout his career, with the vast majority of his big race wins since 2017 coming in Japan. Lemaire has recorded the most wins at JRA tracks in the last five years, and he regularly competes in Europe to take rides on some of the most talented horses.
The Frenchman landed the first Group One prize in 2003 when landing the Grand Prix de Paris and has added a number of Classic wins across the world to his name, including famously with Heart’s Cry in the Arima Kinen. Away from Japan, Lemaire won the Dubai Sheema Classic in 2006, and scored in the G1 1,000 Guineas in the United Kingdom in 2008. A significant Australian prize was added in 2011 after winning the Melbourne Cup aboard Dunaden.
The wealthiest American jockey based on the stats is Mike Smith, who sits 13th in the overall standings after winning $349 million during his career. However, no jockey in the top 20 has recorded more victories than the legendary rider. Smith continues to compete at the highest level in the United States aged 59, and he has ranked among the leaders on track since emerging as a top jockey in the early 1990s.
His achievements were acknowledged in 2003 when he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. To date, no jockey has achieved more success at the Breeders’ Cup than Smith with 27 victories. You can check the 2024 Breeders’ Cup odds by TwinSpires.com here.
Smith also holds the record as the oldest jockey to win the Triple Crown after landing victories in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Preakness Stakes with Justify in 2018. Away from Canadian tracks, Smith has achieved further success overseas. That includes being one of few Americans to win a European Classic after scoring in the G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas in 1991.