Greatest Horse Racing Jockeys

Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. rides Swale down the home stretch to win the 1984 Kentucky Derby. AP Photo

Jockeys might be small in stature. On average, they stand about 5 feet and weigh around 100 pounds. But don’t let their size fool you.

They are some of the most elite athletes in sports, packing superhuman strength into their small bodies with the instincts to guide 1,000-pound animals around racetracks at 40 miles an hour.

Not all jockeys are created equal, though. The best win thousands of horse races and make hundreds of millions of dollars in career earnings.

These are the greatest jockeys in the history of horse racing.

Note: All statistics are from Equibase and through racing on Oct. 29, 2019.

25. Calvin Borel

Calvin Borel after winning the 2009 Haskell Invitational on Rachel Alexandra at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Bill Kostroun / AP Photo

Born: Nov. 7, 1966

Years as jockey: 1983-present (36 years)

Notable horses: Rachel Alexandra, Street Sense, Mine That Bird

Wins: 5,248

Earnings: $132,236,042

Bottom line: Calvin Borel is a Hall of Fame with more than 5,000 career wins, but he’s best known as the rider of three Kentucky Derby winners in a four-year span.

In addition to that trio of high-profile victories, Borel served as the regular pilot of Hall of Fame filly Rachel Alexandra, one of the most beloved thoroughbreds of the 21st century.

24. Russell Baze

Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze after riding Northland Glory for his 9,998th win at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California, in 2008. Eric Risberg / AP Photo

Born: Aug. 7, 1958

Years as jockey: 1976-2016 (40 years)

Notable horses: Bold Chieftain, Lost in the Fog, Smiling Tiger

Wins: 12,842

Earnings: $199,334,219

Bottom line: North America’s all-time winningest jockey didn’t ply his trade on a major circuit, but on the racetracks of Northern California.

Russell Baze dominated that circuit for the better part of four decades before retiring in 2016 with 12,844 wins, a record that may never be broken.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.

23. George Woolf

George Woolf, far right, with Bold Venture after winning the 1936 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. AP Photo

Born: May 31, 1910

Died: Jan. 4, 1946 (age 35)

Years as jockey: 1928-46 (18 years)

Notable horses: Seabiscuit, Kayak II, Challedon

Wins: 721

Earnings: N/A

Bottom line: Immortalized in the movie “Seabiscuit,” George Woolf was one of the top riders in the country in the 1930s and 1940s.

Woolf suffered from diabetes, which limited his riding activity, but he was a regular in the winner’s circle following some of the biggest races of the time.

His career was cut short by a fatal accident in 1946.

22. Braulio Baeza

Braulio Baez rides Sherluck to the winner’s circle after the longshot won the 1961 Belmont Stakes. AP Photo

Born: March 26, 1940

Years as jockey: 1955-76 (21 years)

Notable horses: Buckpasser, Dr. Fager, Ack Ack

Wins: 4,013

Earnings: $36,150,142

Bottom line: One of several top-flight jockeys hailing from Panama, Braulio Baeza came to America in 1960 and was an instant success.

He led all American jockeys in earnings for five straight years, beginning in 1965, and counted Hall of Famers Buckpasser, Dr. Fager and Ack Ack among his regular mounts.

He won two Eclipse Awards for outstanding riding and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976.