What is the average salary of a jockey?

Salary Ranges for Horse Jockeys

The salaries of Horse Jockeys in the US range from $10,049 to $271,427 , with a median salary of $48,880 . The middle 57% of Horse Jockeys makes between $48,882 and $123,036, with the top 86% making $271,427.

Who is the richest jockey?

Meet Yutaka Take, the world's richest jockey. A legend in Japan, Take, 52, enjoys 'God' status in his homeland and has a film star wife. His face is plastered on posters at racecourses, he's been the 'pin-up' of racing for years and enjoys the same level of fame as pop stars.

How much does a jockey get paid each race?

However, as a general rule of thumb Flat jockeys receive around 8.5% of the advertised win prize and 2.61% of the advertised place prize. Jump Jockeys receive around 11.03% of the win prize and 3.44% of the place prize. The riding fee is negotiated annually between the PJA and the ROA.

Do jockeys get paid if they don't win?

Rather than earn a salary, a jockey receives a “mounting fee” — often $50-$110 — for each race, riding sometimes eight races per day. The real money for jockeys comes from prize money, if they can ride a horse to finish first, second or third in a race and earn part of the purse.

Do jockeys get paid for riding out?

Unlike footballers, cricketers or rugby players, jockeys are almost all self-employed (although a few top riders have contracts to ride for individual trainers or owners) which means that rather than being paid a fixed salary, they charge for each job they take.

What is a jockey salary?

Are jockeys wealthy?

The world's highest-earning jockeys

Horse racing jockeys compete for some eye-watering sums of money, and while a big chunk of their winnings goes to the owners of the horses, many of them have still racked up some quite incredible sums over the years.

How tall is the average jockey?

Though there is no height limit for jockeys, they are usually fairly short due to the weight limits. Jockeys typically stand around 4 ft 10 in (147 cm) to 5 ft 7 in (170 cm).

What nationality are most jockeys?

Latin American horse racing

Historically, the vast majority of professional jockeys have come from Latin America – trained in the jockey schools which opened in the 1950s and 1960s in Panama, Puerto Rico and Mexico City. In the 2015 Kentucky Derby, 61% of the jockeys were Latino.

How old is the average jockey?

Although the Equibase.com data do not provide jockeys' birth years, we estimated them broadly from the knowledge that working jockeys are between 16 and 58 years old. (Riders must be 16 to apply for a jockey's license, and the oldest elite jockey was Bill Shoemaker, who retired at 58.)

What is the weight limit for a jockey?

So, ultimately the jockeys should not weigh more than 119 pounds, according to Bustle. While there is no height restriction, most jockeys tend to be around 4-foot-10 and 5-foot-6 due to the weight restriction.

Are there Black jockeys?

Kendrick Carmouche is one of the few Black jockeys in horse racing. In the 2021 Kentucky Derby, he rode the horse Bourbonic, becoming the first Black jockey to ride in the historic race since 2013. “There aren't enough of us anymore on the racetrack,” Carmouche said.

Who is the smallest jockey?

15-year old Kenneth Glover, of Harregate Yorks, is probably the world's smallest jockey. He is so small that the bundles of straw he carried into the stables nearly bury him. He is, in fact, just 4ft.

Why are there no female jockeys?

Once the quality and capabilities of the horses being ridden were taken into account, the performance differences between male and female jockeys became nonexistent.

Do they add weight to jockeys?

If a jockey and his tack weigh less than the weight assigned, weights are added to the horse to meet the required amount designated to carry during its race. Sometimes races include different amounts of weight for horses running in the same competition.

How much does a Kentucky Derby jockey get paid?

When it comes to this year's running of the Kentucky Derby, the winner takes home $1.86 million of the race's $3 million pot. With the rider earning roughly 10 percent of the winnings. $186,000 isn't bad for a days work.

Who is the richest horse owner?

According to the latest World's Billionaires List published by Forbes, they are also the richest. According to Forbes, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer each have a net worth of $34.5 billion putting them at No.

What do Kentucky Derby jockeys earn?

Here's what you need to know about the @KentuckyDerby post positions. Meanwhile, the winning jockey who successfully crosses the finish line first will receive 10% of the winner's purse — which equates to a $186,000 payday before taxes and other payments.

Can a jockey own a racehorse?

Can jockeys own racehorses? No, jockeys are not allowed to own the horse they ride because there is too much gambling money at stake. You wouldn't want a jockey to have a betting interest in a horse he is riding, and even the appearance of impropriety is avoided.

Who is the best female jockey?

Has a female ever won the Kentucky Derby?

Winning Colors (1988), Genuine Risk (1980) and Regret (1915) are the only fillies to win the Kentucky Derby. Each raced against males in advance of running in the Kentucky Derby. Winning Colors and Genuine Risk are the only two fillies to compete in all three Triple Crown races.

What is a jockeys diet?

Most jockeys need to be careful with their diet in order to manage their weight. Ongoing food restriction may lower metabolic rate so should be avoided where possible. Jockeys should try to eat three meals per day with foods from each of the food groups; breads and cereals, fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy.

Do horses feel the whip?

Two papes published in journal Animals lend support to a ban on whipping in horse racing. They respectively show that horses feel as much pain as humans would when whipped, and that the whip does not enhance race safety.

Why are jockeys not allowed to have beards?

So why don't they? The likely truth, say racing historians, is the sport's long history and traditionalist roots have created a culture where it is frowned upon for jockeys to sport beards or facial hair.

Do jockeys have health issues?

Some health hazards have to do with how jockeys take care of themselves. The enormous pressure to "be strong…and look small," has been linked to high rates of eating disorders, Haire said. In the name of weighing less at post time, jockeys abuse laxatives, diuretics, diet pills and steam rooms (sweat boxes).