Jockeys Horseracing in Great Britain

in days of british horseracing, owners tended ride own horses in races. practice died out racing became more organised , owners, of them aristocrats, had grooms ride horses instead. jockeys @ time scruffy , unkempt , not well-regarded. nevertheless, several yorkshire-based jockeys became acclaimed in mid-to-late 18th century. these included john mangle, bill pierse, john shepherd, 3 different individuals named john singleton, ben smith , bill clift. between them won many of runnings of oldest classic, st. leger. counterparts in south became celebrated, , exercised similar dominance on newmarket classics. amongst number sam chifney, jem robinson, arnull family - john, sam , bill - , first man bring respectability profession - frank buckle.

the 19th century dominated 3 jockeys - nat flatman, george fordham , fred archer - between them won forty flat jockeys championships. expansion of print media , growth of interest in horse racing among ordinary people, these jockeys became nationally recognised figures, profile enjoyed footballers , tv celebrities of today. when archer died @ own hand, said:

- tanner & cranham, pp 78-79

the high profile of jockeys @ time illustrated (literally) number of caricatures of jockeys feature in victorian society magazine, vanity fair, alongside mps, aristocrats , other national figures.

three figures dominate flat racing scene of 20th century - steve donoghue, gordon richards , lester piggott. richards regarded greatest jockey ever , set many records still stand, including flat race victories , flat jockey championships. piggott descended great racing families of 19th century, days , cannons, , many greatest jockey still living.

in modern day, frankie dettori jockey widest public profile beyond racing, appearing on celebrity big brother , launching own food range. has gained public attention feats on racetrack, including magnificent 7 wins @ ascot in 1997 , 3 jockeys championships. kieren fallon regular champion around turn of century , still rides today, , younger jockeys have won multiple championships include ryan moore, jamie spencer , paul hanagan. in recent years, hayley turner has come prominence first british woman win group 1 race outright , champion apprentice in 2005.

historically, jumps jockeys have not had same profile flat counterparts, changed extent in 20th century. large television audience enjoyed grand national has helped in regard. unknown jockeys 2013 winner ryan mania have received first nationwide coverage result of race.

the most-celebrated jumps jockey of all-time northern irishman tony mccoy, winner of every jumps jockeys championship 1995/96 until 2014/15 , horse racing figure ever win bbc sports personality of year. broke gordon richards record winners in season in 2001/02 , total number of career wins close 4,000, eclipsing numbers set peter scudamore , richard dunwoody between them leading jumps jockeys of 1980s , 1990s. richard johnson, has been second mccoy in of championships has second wins jockey of time, , gained tabloid fame in late 1990s relationship zara philips.

former champion jump jockeys dick francis , john francome have become known wider public after enjoying second careers writers of racing-based fiction, while francome (until end of 2012) , mick fitzgerald known horse racing tv pundits.

as of november 2017, there around 450 professional jockeys licensed in united kingdom, along around 300 amateur riders.