Top 10 Jockeys of All Time | UK Horse Racing History | HorseRacing.co.uk Want your site listed here? Contact Us . Top 10 Jockeys of All Time Note: It is incredibly difficult to choose the Top Ten of All Time in any category and jockeys are no exception. Top ten ratings for jockeys can depend on all kinds of factors; earnings, wins, rides, champion titles...the list goes on. You might not find all of our top ten choices on other records dealing with famous jockeys, but let us assure you: the athletes we praise here are all true legends of the sport. #1: Laffit A. Pincay, Jr. Born Main Circuit United States Born in Panama City, Panama Laffit Pincay started his career as a horseman on the Panamanian circuit. Noticing the young riders promising talent, Jockey Club member and horse breeder Fred W. Hooper decided to bring twenty-year-old Pincay to the United States to ride as a sponsored jockey for his stable.

The young jockey took to this new and highly professional environment immediately, starting his almost 40 year career by winning eight of his first eleven races. During his career Pincay won almost every major race on the US calendar, including nine wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup, three consecutive wins in the Belmont Stakes and one precious win in the Kentucky Derby . Pincay retired from professional racing in 2003 but he is far from gone from the racing scene. A life-size bust of the legendary jockey is exhibited at Santa Anita Park, he was inducted into the National Museum Of Racing Hall Of Fame in 1975, and the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award is awarded annually on Hollywood Gold Cup Day to a member of the racing community who has displayed outstanding 'integrity, dedication, determination and distinction'. #2: Lanfranco 'Frankie' Dettori Europe Frankie Dettori at Goodwood in August 2004. While he may not yet have amassed as many victories as our number one jockey, Frankie Dettori is still an active jockey, far from retirement, and collecting new wins on a weekly basis.

Dettori was born in Milan, Italy, into a family with a horse-heavy background. His father Gianfranco Dettori was a well-known jockey on the Italian circuit and introduced his son to the art of horse riding early on. At thirteen Dettori quit school to pursue a jockeying career and at fourteen relocated to the United Kingdom to begin his apprenticeship under trainer Luca Cumani at Newmarket racecourse . Almost immediately, Dettori set to forging his reputation as almost too good a rider to be true. He became the first teenager since the outrageous Lester Piggott to ride 100 winning races in one season; won virtually every major race on the British racing calendar; and was signed as a regular jockey for racing giant Godolphin. However, the achievement that forever cements Frankie Dettori as one of the greatest jockeys of all time took place on 28th September 1996, when Dettori won seven out of seven races on a single day of the Royal Ascot Festival . His performance on this fateful day is unrivalled to this day and testament to the almost ludicrous talent of this outstanding athlete.

#3: Russell Baze Main Circuit United States Russell Baze, who in 2006 overtook Laffit Pincay Jr. as jockey with most career wins, has built his fame on a solid base of seemingly impossible achievements. Still an active jockey today, Baze began his career as a sixteen-year-old riding at Yakima Racetrack in Walla Walla, Washington, winning his first race there in autumn 1974. However, it was during only in the early nineties that the North American horse racing authorities began to value and reward Baze's outstanding talent. He was named United States Champion Jockey (by wins) ten times, including receiving the title from 1992 to 1995 consecutively, and was awarded the Eclipse Special Award in 1995. The honour was based on Baze's winning over 400 races per year for five years running. In 1999 Baze was inducted into the United States Racing Hall Of Fame, won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 2002, and has a very special relationship with the Isaac Murphy Award.

This award for outstanding jockeying achievements was introduced in 1995 and since it appeared on the scene Russell Baze has received it every single year, bar 2004 when the award went to Ramon Dominguez. In 2010 Baze celebrated a personal break through when he won the San Francisco Breeders' Club Mile, the only race held at Golden Gate Fields Racecourse that had eluded him during his stellar career. #4: Jerry D. Bailey Main Circuit United States Jerry Bailey, retired in 2006, was a true collector of big name wins. The Texan athlete started his career in 1974, riding his first winner at Sunland Park Racecourse in New Mexico, and made it his mission to ride to victory in prestigious races in his home country and on the international circuit. He rode four winners at the Dubai World Cup (1996, 1997, 2001, 2002) and scored a much coveted victory in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes in 2000.

Bailey holds double victories in all America Classic Races (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes) and has won a total of fifteen Breeders' Cup Races. However, Bailey also shot to fame for pioneering a completely different side of the jockeying profession. He was the first jockey ever to wear advertising patches on his silks when riding in the Kentucky Derby 2004. Only weeks earlier a district court in Louisville had passed the law allowing rider to advertise during the historical event and Bailey was the first top rider to jump on the bandwagon. In 1995 Bailey was inducted into the United States Racing Hall Of Fame in 1995, received the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey seven times (three and four times consecutively from 1995-1997 and 2000-2003); was highest earning jockey in the United States for six seasons, and won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award for top lifetime achievement in 1992. Since his retirement Bailey has remained involved in the racing scene, including serving as a commentator for ESPN.

#5: Lester Piggott Main Circuit United Kingdom Many examples can be cited to demonstrate Lester Piggott's dedication to the sport of horse racing, but one act seems to stand out: Lester Piggott did not retire from the track until he was almost sixty years old. Piggott was born into a long lineage of jockeys and horsemen, a legacy he seemed eager to embrace from a young age. He started racing horses at the age of ten, won his first event two years later and seemingly never looked back. Piggott became known as the youngest jockey to ride over 100 winners in one season. When he was eighteen years old, he recorded his first victory in the Epsom Derby , which would become somewhat of a signature race for him. In the course of his fifty year career, Piggott won nine runs of the Epsom Derby, a feat unrivalled until today. But Piggott did not stop there, he won the Ascot Gold Cup eleven times, the July Cup ten times and the St. Leger Stakes eight times.

Expanding his impressive Derby record he went on to win the Irish Derby five times, the German Derby three times, and won once in both the Singapore Derby and the Slovak Derby. The only thing to taint Piggott's career was his constant struggle to maintain his shape. At five foot eight inches, he was unusually tall for a jockey and suffered great deprivations to meet weight standards. Piggott rode his last winner in 1994, aged 59, and finally retired the following year. An annual price giving ceremony for jockeys, the Oscars of the riding world so to speak, are named The Lesters in his honour. Lester Piggott is widely considered the most outstanding jockey who had ever lived. #6: Steve Cauthen Main Circuit United Kingdom Steve Cauthen was born into the United States hotbed of thoroughbred racing , the state of Kentucky, and started his career as a teenager on the North American Circuit. He began competing in professional races at sixteen, booking his first winner within a week of his debut race, and shot to fame almost instantly.

In his second season on the track, at seventeen, he was the winning-most jockey of the year with 487 victories. Consequently he was named the Associated Press Athlete Of The Year and Sportsman Of The Year in 1977. In the same year he was the highest earning jockey of the season, won the Eclipse Award in both the outstanding apprentice jockey and the outstanding jockey category and the Eclipse Award Of Merit. The following season, at eighteen, Cauthen achieved the nigh impossible on equine legend Affirmed - he won the US Triple Crown series 1978. Since Cauthen rode the triple winner, no other horse has won this prestigious cup. At nineteen, Cauthen emigrated to the United Kingdom; partly for the year-round high-profile races, partly because jockeys competed at higher weights in the UK and Cauthen had trouble meeting the stringent weight restrictions in the US. The talented athlete made his mark on the British racing scene with ease. He recorded wins in all Classic Races - including three wins in the St.

Leger Stakes -, rode winners in most major events, like the Coronation Cup , the Eclipse Stakes and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes ; as well as blitzing competition in prestigious races in Germany, France and Italy. Since his retirement Cauthen is an executive at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. #7: Cash Asmussen Main Circuit France Although Cash Asmussen was born and grew up in South Dakota and Texas, he would truly leave his mark on the French racing scene. His introduction to the North American circuit came with his win in the Beldame Stakes on filly Waya. Until his departure to the European continent in 1982, Asmussen recorded two consecutive wins in the Vosburgh Stakes, and victories in the Coaching Club American Oaks, the Mother Goose Stakes, and the Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (which he would win a second time in 1994).

From 1982 to 2000, Asmussen was predominantly based in Chantilly, France, the home of Chantilly Racecourse; for most of this time he was retained as a stable jockey for Stavros Niarchos, a wealthy shipping heir and stable owner. During his time in Europe Asmussen collected titles in all major French races - from the Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe to the Grand Prix De Paris - as well as working his magic on racecourses in the UK. The July Cup 1988 and the Coronation Cup 1990 count among his main achievements on the British racing circuit. He was named Champion Jockey five times during his French residence and sporadically returned to the United States to win the Breeders' Cup Mile amongst other big races. Asmussen retired from professional racing in 2001 and returned to Texas. #8: Patrick 'Pat' Eddery Main Circuit United Kingdom Pat Eddery hails from County Kildare in Ireland and showed an affinity for horse racing from a young age.

He started his apprenticeship in 1967, at fifteen years of age, and began a slow and steady ascent, first on the Irish and later on the British racing circuit. Other than most of our Top Ten jockeys, Eddery was not a teenage sensation but only started to claim his fame in the 1980s, although he was named Irish Champion Apprentice in 1971. Eddery was a steady winner and an outstanding horseman. His ability to control and relax his mounts, thus enabling them to race to the best of their ability - no matter what their position or competition - made him a sought after rider for trainers and owners from all over the world. During his career he was named Champion Jockey eleven times - sharing the all-time record with legend Lester Piggott - and collected wins in most major events on the UK racing calendar. Amongst his most successful races are the Coronation Cup, Sussex Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes with six wins, the Middle Park Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy at five wins each; as well as sharing the title of winning-most jockey of France's Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe, which saw him emerge victorious four times.

Since his retirement in 2003, Eddery is working as a trainer of thoroughbreds at his Musk Hill Stud stable. He was awarded an honorary OBE in 2005. #9: William 'Bill' Shoemaker Main Circuit United States William Lee Shoemaker had a dramatic start in life, as a diminutive baby weighing roughly one kilo who was not expected to make is through the night. A fighter by nature, he did live but remained tiny into adulthood. However, his four feet eleven inches frame turned out a blessing once young Shoemaker made his career choice. Shoemaker started riding professionally at eighteen and won his first race within a month of his first appearance on the track. The following year, 1950, Shoemaker was named United States Champion Jockey by wins, a title he received five times in total during his career. From this moment onwards, it seemed to be young Williams sole ambition to collect wins in all US racing events worthy of his attention. He won all three of the US Classic races multiple times, without ever achieving a Triple Crown Victory, as well as the 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Shoemaker made the Santa Anita Handicap his own, recording eleven wins in the event; and won eight runs of the Del Mar Handicap, the Oak Tree Invitational Handicap, the Santa Anita Derby, the Hollywood Gold Cup and the San Luis Obispo Handicap. In 1958 he was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame. After his retirement in 1990 Shoemaker went into horse training , a career which was soon interrupted by a tragic car accident which left the former star athlete paralysed from the neck down. In spite of his horrific injury, Shoemaker continued to train horses until 1997. Today the Shoemaker Breeders' Cup Stakes are held annually at Hollywood Park Racecourse, and a life-size bust of the track legend can be admired at Santa Anita Park. #10: Tony McCoy Tony McCoy & Straw Bear, winning the 2006 Fighting Fifth Hurdle. Anthony Peter McCoy, known mostly as Tony McCoy, is perhaps the greatest National Hunt jockey of our time.

The young Irish jockey burst onto the scene in 1992, when he recorded his first win at Thurles Racecourse, and seems to have been improving steadily ever since. In 1994 he rode his first winner on British soil and quickly became one of the most prolific athletes on the scene. Since the 1995/96 season, McCoy has been named British Jump Racing Champion Jockey every single year without fail. He was awarded an MBE in 2003 and an OBE in 2010. McCoy holds the record for most winners ridden within a season by a National Hunt jockey, 253, and was the fastest jockey to collect 1000 winners. He is also the only jump jockey to win more than 2,500 races. Throughout his career McCoy won every National Hunt race worth winning; the Champion Chase, the Champion Hurdle , the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Tingle Creek Chase amongst them. One single race seemed to elude the legend of the track though, the Aintree Grand National .

It wasn't until 2010 that McCoy finally cracked the Aintree Grand National code, riding his first winner at the event, Don't Push It. In spite of his remarkable career achievements, McCoy lists this win as one of the most spectacular moments of his professional life. With many years left in the saddle, Tony McCoy is guaranteed to work up an amazing number of career wins by the time he chooses to retire - so keep an eye out during jump season, you might just see some history being made.

AP McCoy, former champion National Hunt jockey Sarah Radford 21:19 - 16 December, 2016 There were thrills aplenty during the competitive Markel champions challenge — in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund — at Olympia, London International Horse Show Hannah Lemieux 15:20 - 10 October, 2016 AP McCoy, Daryl Jacob, Mark Enright and Leighton Aspell speak candidly about the mental health challenges they’ve faced in a new video to mark World Mental Health Day Amy Mathieson 19:08 - 23 August, 2016 The Rio 2016 gold medallist said it would be an 'honour for showjumping' and Sir AP McCoy is among those backing Nick for the accolade Caroline Bankes 15:17 - 5 June, 2016 The inaugural Jockeys vs Olympic Legends polo match will take place at Beaufort Polo Club on 19 June Horse & Hound 09:05 - 30 December, 2015 From seeing the toughest man in racing, AP McCoy, shed a tear after

 his final ride at the Cheltenham Festival in March and the British eventing team receiving their silver medals at Blair’s European Championships in September to an atmospheric morning on the hunting field and the modern world of… Richard Johnson 10:38 - 26 December, 2015 Our racing columnist celebrates AP McCoy's SPOTY success, looks ahead to the King George and says a sad farewell to Alan Lee Amy Mathieson 16:06 - 21 December, 2015 AP McCoy picked up the BBC’s lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards Amy Mathieson 09:36 - 17 December, 2015 Twenty-times champion National Hunt jockey AP McCoy is to be honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards McCoy breaks National Hunt record | Sport | The Guardian McCoy breaks National Hunt record Staff and agencies Tuesday 27 August 2002 10.20 EDT First published on Tuesday 27 August 2002 10.20 EDT Share on Messenger Close Tony McCoy galloped into the record books again today by riding Mighty Montefalco to victory at

 Uttoxeter - and becoming the most successful jockey in National Hunt history.

The winner - his 1700th career win in total - put the 28-year-old Irishman ahead of Richard Dunwoody's total of 1,699 career wins. Remarkably, McCoy took only eight years - half the time of Dunwoody - to break the record. McCoy had earlier drawn level with Dunwoody, who ended his riding career in December 1999, on his first ride of the afternoon, guiding the 1-3 favourite Dream With Me in the opening Countryside Alliance Novices' Hurdle. And he produced a typically strong finish to hold off the challenge of My Good Son on the run in to take first place on the 8/13 favourite Mighty Montefalco and secure his place in the history books. But McCoy was typically modest after notching up his latest record and paid tribute to some of his weighing room colleagues. He said: "Obviously I am over the moon. I'm not sure how Richard is feeling but he is a very good friend of mine. "He was my hero and for me the best jockey I have ridden against, although Adrian Maguire and Charlie Swan would be right up there.

"I am pleased to be mentioned in the same breath as him [Dunwoody]." In April, McCoy broke one of the greatest records in British horse racing when he rode his 270th success of the season, beating the total set by Sir Gordon Richards in 1947. He went on to ride 289 winners. It is a measure of his recent domination of jump racing that virtually all the records he breaks nowadays are his own but this latest one belonged to the now-retired three-time champion Richard Dunwoody, whose total stood at 1,699 achieved in a career spanning 16 years. From his 1994/5 debut season in Britain, when he became champion conditional jockey with 74 winners, McCoy has been tearing up the record books. Notable landmarks include the most successful season in history an amazing 289 winners in 2001/2. He completed a career total of 1,000 winners in December 1999 - in just over five years which was more than five years quicker than the previous best - and his 1,500th came just two years later.

And McCoy provided the perfect combination of quantity and quality in 1998 with a record-equalling five winners at the Cheltenham Festival on Champleve, Unsinkable Boxer, Cyfor Malta, Edredon Bleu and Blowing Wind. The 28-year-old has a record second to none in the big races and he landed the rare Cheltenham Gold Cup/Champion Hurdle double on Mr Mulligan and Make A Stand in 1997. Last April McCoy overtook Sir Gordon Richards' record seasonal tally of 269 on Valfonic at Warwick. But it is his tremendous will to win at any level that marks him out, and makes him an obvious ally of similarly obsessive trainer Martin Pipe, the most successful in British racing history, whose former jockey Peter Scudamore set most of the records McCoy has broken. McCoy has had advantages over his predecessors, such as the extra winning opportunities offered by summer jumping and the recent trend for milder winters and fewer abandonments. He also has the perfect background for a champion jockey.

His father Peadar may be a joiner by profession but, like many in Ireland, he keeps a few horses "as a hobby"; his "hobby" horses included future Cheltenham Festival winner Thumbs Up. McCoy junior was schooling jumpers a job calling for strength and experience rather than youth and enthusiasm by the age of 13 and soon realised his future lay in racing. He began spending weekends working for local trainer Willie Rock, leading up horses ridden by today's weighing-room colleagues Charlie Swan and Conor O'Dwyer. And at 15 he quit school to his mother's displeasure and headed south from County Antrim to join Jim Bolger's stable on the Curragh in Dublin. McCoy was soon riding work on the likes of Classic winners St Jovite and Jet Ski Lady. Though he still saw himself as a jump jockey in the making his new boss wanted him to stick to the Flat and was reluctant to let him ride over hurdles, refusing him any mounts over fences. McCoy got what he sees as a "lucky break" when he broke his left leg, causing his weight to balloon and forcing even Bolger to concede his future lay over the sticks.

Soon after came the opening that has allowed him to set the British racing world alight. In the summer of 1994, Eddie Harty engineered a meeting between the youngster looking for a chance and British trainer Toby Balding who was seeking a conditional jockey. Balding had struck lucky in Ireland two years earlier by snapping up a youth called Adrian Maguire, who turned out to be one of the biggest riding talents of the decade. He was prepared to take a chance on McCoy who had ridden only seven winners over jumps on the recommendation of the man who rode his Grand National winner Highland Wedding. McCoy was keen to grab the opportunity, recognising that following in such famous footsteps would earn him the publicity which could open doors elsewhere. But it soon became clear that the young man in a hurry would generate his own publicity on the track. He took to British racing straight away and rode 74 winners in his first season, running away with the conditional jockeys' championship. Many a young rider struggles once losing their right to claim and fails to confirm the promise of their early career. But not McCoy. He has never looked back and has been champion jockey every season since.

Cheltenham Festival Jockeys You are here: Cheltenham Festival > Cheltenham Festival Jockeys Friday, 20 January 2017 Cheltenham Festival Jockeys The Cheltenham Festival features the talents of some of the world’s most talented jockeys. Every year Cheltenham Festival jockeys riding for the UK’s top stables compete for one of the meeting’s biggest honours – the Top Jockey award for most race wins: Tony McCoy Tony McCoy is one of the greatest jockeys in the history of national hunt racing. McCoy has won the National Hunt Champion Jockey title every year since 1995 and holds the record for most wins by a jumps jockey in a single season. Read more… Tom Scudamore Tom Scudamore is one of the most promising jump jockeys in Ireland. Scudamore represents the 3rd generation of Scudamore jumps jockeys, and is the son of famous jockey Peter Scudamore. The young jockey does most of his racing for the stable owned by his family, but also works with the stable of David Pipe.

Read more… Sam Thomas Sam Thomas is an emerging star in national hunt racing, and has achieved impressive results during his career. Thomas is the second choice jockey for Paul Nicholls, after Irish jockey Ruby Walsh. Thomas is one of the most successful graduates of the British Racing School. Read more… Ruby Walsh Ruby Walsh has been one of the most successful jockeys in national hunt racing during the past decade. Whilst Walsh has had to play second fiddle to Tony McCoy in England, he has been the most successful jockey in Irish racing. He made his debut in the season of 1998/1999, and has won the Irish Champion Jockey title seven times since then. Read more… Robert Thornton Robert Thornton is one of the highest rated English jockeys competing in national hunt racing. Nicknamed ‘Choc’ by friends, Robert Thornton has made a name for himself by putting in a series of excellent performances at the Cheltenham Festival. Read more… Richard Johnson Richard Johnson is the most successful English jockey competing in national hunt racing.

Whilst Johnson has been overshadowed by the exploits of Ireland’s Tony McCoy throughout his career, he is undoubtedly one of the finest jumps jockeys in the world, and is rarely outside the top 3 in the British National Hunt Jockey Championship. Read more… Paddy Brennan Paddy Brennan is one of Ireland’s brightest prospects for the future. Brennan has improved steadily as a jockey since turning pro in 2005, and is rated as being amongst the finest young jockeys in national hunt racing. Brennan partners some of the strongest stables in national hunt racing and has already built an impressive record in some of the sport’s most prestigious races. Read more… Graham Lee Graham Lee is a successful jockey in Irish and English national hunt racing. During his career, Lee has worked with some of the top stables in national hunt racing, and is one of the few jockeys in the sport to have put pressure on Tony McCoy in the race for the Champion Jockey title. Read more… Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty is one of the most highly rated jockeys competing in national hunt racing.

Geraghty is a former Irish Champion Jockey, having won the title during his second year in the sport, and has also won a number of the most prestigious races in national hunt racing. Read more… Andrew Thornton Andrew Thornton is one of the most talented English-born jockeys competing in national hunt racing, and the brother of top jockey Robert Thornton. Unusually tall for a jockey, Andrew Thornton is forced to use an unorthodox riding style that requires him to race low in the stirrups. Thornton is excellent over the finish, and has been responsible for a number of exciting last second wins. 8 things you should know about Richard Johnson 8 things you should know about Richard Johnson 05 Oct Horse Racing Tom Bowles Share The leading jockey is Betway’s latest brand ambassador and will contribute a series of exclusive columns throughout the season 1. Early days Richard was born on 21 July 1977 and grew up on an arable and cattle farm in Hereford. He comes from a family with a rich background in rich horse racing. His father Keith was an amateur jockey while his mother Susan has a training permit. 2.

Apprenticeship He spent summers working at legendary trainer David Nicholson’s yard and joined 'The Duke' as an apprentice at the age of 16. Peter Scudamore and Richard Dunwoody - are eight and three-time champion jockeys respectively - are two legends he greatly admires. 3. Immediate success The 5ft 7in, 10-stone man has been one of the sport’s leading names ever since being crowned the Champion Conditional Jockey - awarded for the most National Hunt race wins in a season - at the age of 18 in 1995. He also became the youngest jockey to record more than 100 wins in a season in 1996/97. 4. Cheltenham triumphs Richard is one of only three jockeys riding today - alongside Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh - to have won all four Championship races at the Cheltenham Festival.

He won the Stayers’ Hurdle on Anzum in 1999, the Gold Cup on Looks Like Trouble in 2000, the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Flagship Uberalles in 2002 and the Champion Hurdle on Rooster Booster in 2003. 5. Serial winner Richard has currently ridden more than 2,900 winners - the second-highest ever by a jump jockey. He reached 1000 on Quedex at Stratford in 2003 and hit 2000 on Fighting Chance at Newbury in 2009. 6. Grand National Richard is the greatest jockey to have never won the £1m race. In 19 attempts, his best finish is second - doing so twice on Whats Up Boys in 2002 and Balthazar King in 2014 respectively. 7. Relationships Richard married Fiona - the daughter of Irish trainer Noel Chance - in 2007 and the couple have three children: Willow, Caspar and Percy. The 38-year-old is Philip Hobbs' stable jockey.

He also rides a lot for, among others, Tim Vaughan, Peter Bowen, Ian Williams and Henry Daly. 8. Champion jockey? Richard has finished runner-up to AP McCoy in the British Jump Jockeys’ Championship an astonishing 16 times. Following the retirement of the Northern Irishman earlier this year, Richard is favourite to finally achieve his dream this season. He is 1/12 with Betway to be crowned champion jockey for the first time in April 2016. Richard’s twice-weekly exclusive column for the Betway Insider will be published every Friday and Monday. He will give his thoughts on his rides and other high-profile horses and races, in addition to providing daily blogs during the Cheltenham and Grand National Festivals. Follow Richard ( @dickyjohnson77) on Twitter. Share Tom Bowles Senior sports writer who previously worked as a reporter for the Press Association and media officer for International Sports Management. Perennial champion jockey McCoy wins RTÉ award Perennial champion jockey Tony McCoy wins RTÉ award Updated / Dec.

22, 2013 12:44 Tony McCoy has been champion National Hunt jockey in Britain every season since first winning the title in 1995-96 Jockey Tony McCoy has been crowned the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year for 2013. McCoy, who rode a 4,000th jumps winner in Ireland and Britain in November, was presented his award by Irish Sports Council chief executive John Treacy. After over a quarter of a century in the saddle and 18 consecutive champion jockey titles, the Moneyglass man has now turned his attention to the 5,000 winner landmark. The 39-year-old, who claimed the BBC Sport version of the prize in 2010 and finished third in this year’s instalment, fought off stiff opposition from Rob Heffernan, Martyn Irvine, Tony Kelly, Michael Darragh Macauley, Michael McKillop, Annalise Murphy, Joseph O’Brien, Jason Quigley, Jonathan Sexton and Jason Smyth to lift the prize.

McCoy, who recorded winner 4000 with a typically determined ride on board Mountain Tunes at Towcester on 7 November, told host Darragh Maloney: “It’s great, it’s a fantastic honour.” The weighing room veteran was keen to pay tribute to his fellow nominees. “Any one of them would be a very worthy winner,” he insisted. Clare’s hurlers received the RTÉ Sports Team of the Year gong and manager Davy Fitzgerald landed the RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year award after guiding his young charges to victory in the All-Ireland SFC final replay against Cork. Fitzgerald has been instrumental in three of the Banner County’s four All-Ireland triumphs, having won titles as a player in 1995 and 1997. Former Republic of Ireland international Paul McGrath was inducted into the RTÉ Sports Awards Hall of Fame. The cultured defender, who enjoyed long stints with both Manchester United and Aston Villa, cited the 1990 World Cup as a career highlight. View Comments McCoy: the facts | Sport | The Guardian The Guardian Tony McCoy McCoy: the facts Tony McCoy today became the most successful jockey in the history of the National Hunt.

But that only skims the surface of this most remarkable athlete Benjamin Steele Tuesday 27 August 2002 10.54 EDT First published on Tuesday 27 August 2002 10.54 EDT Share on Messenger Close 1: Last year McCoy beat Sir Gordon Richards' 55-year-old record for most winners in a season (flat or National Hunt), recording 289 winners from 1008 rides. 2: In that season McCoy won twice the number of races of his closest rival Richard Johnson (132) 3: This year McCoy has a 36% winning record (97 winners in 262 rides), astonishingly meaning on average he rides a winner every three races. 4: McCoy jointly holds the record for the most number of winners in a single Cheltenham Festival - the most important meeting in the jump racing calender - with 5 in 1998. 5: McCoy has been champion National Hunt jockey every season since 1995/6, never riding fewer than 175 winners.

6: At 5ft 10, McCoy is relatively tall for a jockey, but keeps his riding weight as low as 10st, surviving primarily on chocolate bars. 7: McCoy was heading for a career as a flat jockey, until he broke his leg in a fall in 1993, causing his weight to balloon, and forcing him to switch to National Hunt. 8: McCoy was the fastest jump jockey to record 1000 career winners, in just 5 years, 95 days, beating Peter Scudamore's existing record by 5 years, 72 days. 9: McCoy is the only man to have ridden more than 200 winners in a season on more than one occasion. He has done it three times so far and is well on the way to making it four this term. 10: McCoy achieved his first winner on September 7 1994. His 1,700 winners have been achieved in just over 8 years. The mark he beat of 1,669, was achieved by Richard Dunwoody, over the course of 16 years.

AP McCoy Makes History with 4000th Winner Aboard Mountain Tunes | Bleacher Report AP McCoy Makes History with 4000th Winner Aboard Mountain Tunes By Alex Livie , Featured Columnist Nov 7, 2013 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images 0 Comments AP McCoy wrote himself another piece of horse racing history by becoming the first National Hunt rider to reach 4,000 winners. The 18-time champion jockey has been breaking records virtually from his first season in the saddle, and he partnered Mountain Tunes to victory in the Weatherbys Novices' Hurdle at Towcester to reach the landmark. McCoy was last early on, but his mount warmed to the task and moved into contention turning for home. A sloppy leap at the second last put McCoy on the back foot, but he galvanised Mountain Tunes and a power-packed finish put his mount in front in the shadow of the post—much to the delight of a packed crowd at Towcester.

McCoy has pretty much picked up Mountain Tunes, thrown him over his shoulder and carried him over the line for his 4,000th win... #AP4000 — Simon Caney (@simoncaney) November 7, 2013 Speaking to At The Races after the race, McCoy said : It was just amazing, it couldn't have worked out any better. To do it for Jonjo and the McManus's is brilliant as they've been so good to me. It was always hopefully going to be in JP's colours. Racing people are fantastic, they are so pleased for me. I've had the same agent, Dave Roberts, from day one and his dad sadly passed away yesterday so I'd like to dedicate this to him. To have Chanelle (wife), Eve and Archie (children) here is great and to do it in the McManus silks means a lot. In a storied career, McCoy’s first winner came aboard Legal Steps at Thurles in 1992, while his first victory in England came on Chickabiddy at Exeter in 1994. He has since gone on to repeatedly rewrite the history books.

His first jockeys’ title came in the 1995/96 season, and he has gone on to win it every year since . Now standing on 119 winners for the current campaign, per the Professional Jockeys Association , he is already a hot favourite to make it 19 titles on the bounce next year. McCoy is an Arsenal fan, and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was quick to pay tribute to the rider. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "AP has shown great resilience to get to where he is. Everyone at the club is proud to know he's an Arsenal fan” — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 7, 2013 McCoy has dodged talk of retirement, and recently spoke about the next record he has in his sights. He spent a large portion of his career as stable jockey to Martin Pipe, and it is the former master of Pond House Stables’ record of 4,182 wins that McCoy wants to eclipse.

Speaking to the Mail’s Peter Scudamore , an eight-time champion jockey himself, McCoy said: “I know I am getting closer but he has threatened to take out a trainer’s licence again if I get there.” When asked by Scudamore about the prospect of retirement, McCoy said: I hate the thought of it. There has always been a danger element to this sport, but I have always been able to accept the fact that I am going to get injured. I want to be able to retire at the top and if I am going to do that, it will mean retiring when I am champion jockey. That won’t be easy. But it won’t be when I ride 4,000 winners—that’s for sure. If I could get to 20 champion jockeys and ride another 200 winners, I could beat Martin Pipe’s record. McCoy has pocketed virtually every big race in the book and famously landed the Grand National in 2010 aboard Don’t Push It , having failed in 14 previous attempts to win the great steeplechase.

Only three jockeys here have ridden over 4,000 winners—Sir Gordon Richards, Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery—and they all rode on the Flat where the demands on the body are far less. BBC Sport - Horse Racing - Tony McCoy and Richard Johnson share enduring rivalry Tony McCoy and Richard Johnson share enduring rivalry McCoy and Johnson have been doing battle for more than a decade By Frank Keogh For every champion there is a runner-up. Some have the burden of being a perpetual second because the person in front is a relentless winner. Yet as Tony McCoy is crowned top jump jockey for the 16th year in a row at Sandown on Saturday, there will be little jealousy or resentment from Richard Johnson, the rider who has finished runner-up 13 times. Aside from McCoy, the Englishman has secured more National Hunt winners - over 2,200 of them - than any rider in the history of horse racing. The championship (determined by the number of victories in a season) has eluded him so far, largely because of his uniquely single-minded and determined rival.

Despite boasting 1,000 career winners more than his closest challenger, record-breaking McCoy wants to set marks that may never be beaten in his lifetime. "What he's achieved has been amazing. He has completely rewritten what we thought was achievable in a season, and a career," Johnson tells me. "Whether it's a Monday, a Saturday or a Festival, he's hungry and consistent every day. "He rarely makes mistakes - you would struggle to think of one. He is a machine who turns out winners. He seems to get it right all the time. "He has very few flaws in his riding and personality. What he has achieved is amazing, and great for the sport." BBC Sports Personality of the Year McCoy, who turns 37 next month, is driven by an insatiable thirst for victory. When he won his first championship in 1996, the Mark Morrison track Return of the Mack topped the UK singles chart, and there has been no looking back for McCoy. The Northern Irishman has ridden more than 3,200 winners in his career and, privately, might have the once unthinkable figure of 4,000 as his next target.

His total of 289 wins in the 2002 season surpassed a record set by Flat jockey Sir Gordon Richards for the number of victories in one term (269) that had stood for half a century. McCOY'S SEASONAL WINNERS TOTAL 2010/11 - 218 And his dominance continues this season with 218 winners, with Johnson well adrift on 151. McCoy has been relatively fortunate with injuries, and when they come along he fights to get back like no other. Three years ago, he underwent kriotherapy - freezing at a temperature of -130C - to aid his return in time for the Cheltenham Festival. "When I started out, Richard Dunwoody was at the top and I looked up to him because he set the benchmark," says McCoy. "He was the best, had won more races than anyone else and it was pretty easy to think to yourself that's who you would like to beat.

"But you would be a fool to have thought you could be champion jockey as many times as I have been lucky enough to be." McCoy, widely known by his initials AP (Anthony Peter), is a wittier, sharper individual than you might care to think at first glance. He is a famously unhappy loser, who wants to ensure those chasing his records in the future "have some dark days" as they make sacrifices in the pursuit. Standing at around 5ft 9in tall, he has been known to slim down for some rides to 10 stone, a stone-and-a-half below his natural weight, with a punishing diet of saunas and snatched snacks. But he admits his three-year-old daughter Eve has softened his sometimes steely outlook. "She has probably made me happier, easier to live with and a better person," he says. "She has made my job so much easier as you don't dwell on things. "No matter what you do or what racing has been on, when I come home at night, however it's gone, she's the same.

She's probably the only person in the world who has me wrapped around her finger." I've had a fantastic career and I'm never going to moan that AP has won so many times Richard Johnson As Eve gets bigger, her father edges closer to a date in three years' time when he will be 40, beyond which few National Hunt jockeys remain at the top. While riders on the Flat, such as McCoy's hero Lester Piggott, can go on until their mid-50s, bone-crunching injuries take their toll on jump jockeys. With an average of one fall every 16 races, McCoy and Johnson have gone down hundreds of times in their careers. "I would be surprised to see myself riding after 40," concedes Johnson, who will turn 34 in July. "The main thing is how you feel in yourself. Injuries are a major factor in why people finish riding." It would be wrong to think of Johnson as some kind of also-ran. He has won all four championship races at Cheltenham during his career, including the 2000 Gold Cup on Looks Like Trouble and the Champion Hurdle three years later with Rooster Booster.

Gaining an elusive jockeys' championship, however, remains his top priority. "Probably the closest I got to AP was one season just after he left [trainer] Martin Pipe when he beat me by about 10 winners," he reflects. "It gave me hope, although even 10 is a bit to make up when you know he's probably going to ride another three or four winners one day." McCoy, helped first by the powerful backing of Pipe and later by owner JP McManus, may have seen Johnson off in the title race on all of those occasions, but the respect they have for each other as sportsmen and human beings is clear. "AP is very good with the younger generation of jockeys. For them to be able to ride alongside him and chat with him is probably a dream come true," says Johnson. "He is great with children waiting for autographs outside the weighing room or older racegoers. He's obviously very, very determined in a race, but he's an all-round nice fella. "We are very, very lucky to have someone like him around who is such a pleasant man.

"The Sports Personality award showed people admire, respect and like him, which are three things you don't associate with all top sportspeople. "I've had a fantastic career and I'm never going to moan that AP has won so many times. It's my own fault I haven't ridden more winners." Tony McCoy, wife Chanelle and daughter Eve National Hunt racing is a thrilling, spectacular sport enjoyed by millions, but it is a dangerous game. Two horses died in the Grand National and two of McCoy and Johnson's colleagues lie in hospital beds over the Easter weekend fighting to recover from serious injuries suffered in other races. While the thoughts of the racing community remain with Peter Toole and Richard Hawkins, Saturday sees the end of one season with the next starting just 24 hours later. There is little respite, but Sandown's final fixture marks the chance to honour jump racing's finest. And there is more than one winner in a sport where the risk and will to win creates a camaraderie that few others can boast. "I've never taken drink or drugs in my life, and don't know what it does for most people, but this is the nearest thing I've had to a drug," says teetotal McCoy.

"It's what I've always lived for and gives me the greatest high. "Nothing has ever given me more satisfaction. I'm a realist, but it is the worst thing trying to contemplate not riding. It is an unbearable thought." McCoy will only stop when he can no longer be champion - a case of jumping before being pushed, as he puts it - and his rival remains quietly focused on being the man who will take his title. Johnson says: "Every year on the Sunday when we all start off on zero, my main ambition is to be champion jockey. "For me that is the best thing you can achieve and what I will be trying to do next season." McCoy adds of his colleague: "I've known Richard Johnson longer than any of the other jockeys still riding and look up to him more than anyone else. "Others could learn so much from his whole demeanour "It's incredible to think he has ridden twice as many winners as someone like John Francome yet he is not champion jockey. "To me, he is a champion. I look up to him." Bookmark with:

Question: Who has been horse racing's National Hunt champion jockey every season since 1995-96?
Answer: TONY McCOY