There have been plenty of exceptional flat jockeys over the years, making it challenging to determine the best jockeys of all time. In this article, we present our top five flat jockeys in the history of horse racing. Our list might be different to other similar articles, but rest assured that each jockey on our list is a true legend of the sport and deserves recognition among the all-time greats. 

Lester Piggott 

(4,493 career winners)

If you were to ask anyone in horse racing, young or old, who the best flat jockey that there has been in the UK, 99% would probably say Lester Piggott. 

Granted, quite a few fans of the modern day racing might not have been watching it when he was riding in his prime, however there are plenty of clips of him just purely because of how many big winners he rode during his time in the saddle. 

A total of 4,493 winners in his career, 11 Champion Jockey titles and 30 British Classic race wins (2000 & 1000 Guineas, Epsom Derby & Oaks and the St Leger), he is still to this day the winning most jockey of the Derby at Epsom with 9 winners to boot. The youngest jockey ever to ride over 100 winners in just one season, he was also just 18 when he won his first Epsom Derby onboard Never Say Die back in 1954. 

A true horseman who had a real pedigree in his family line, was still riding into his mid 60’s, after an incredibly long and distinguished career. Lester rode his first winner back in August 1948, and was still riding winners all the way up until 1994, his list ever one being Palacegate Jack at Haydock in October 1994. With his last Group race winner in Britain being Lemon Souffle in the 1994 Falmouth Stakes.  

One of the all-time greats of the sport, and someone who will be mentioned for years and years to come, not just for his riding abilities and what he achieved during his career, but also purely because of the absolute dedication he showed to his craft for over 50 years. 

Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori 

(3,300+ winners currently)

Arguably one of the most recognisable and famous faces in this list, everyone in racing knows the name Frankie Dettori, even when at the racecourse around not the most avid of racing fans, they all recognize his name when it is down on the racecard.

There is not a race that Frankie has not won over his 35 year career, which still continues to this day, and although he is not known purely for numbers of winners, it’s the quality and types of races he wins. Frankie absolutely thrives on riding the big TV winners. A three time Champion Jockey in the UK, he also has 23 British Classics to boot. 

Frankie has ridden winners all over the world, which includes wins in Great Britain, France, Qatar, Germany, Italy, Hungary, South Africa, Hong Kong, Ireland, Canada, Dubai, USA, Japan and Singapore. And those aren't just ordinary winners, they are the ones at the highest level of Group/Grade 1 status.

Frankie cemented himself as one of the very best when doing something unheard of in racing, which was riding all 7 winners on the card of 7 races at Ascot back in September 28th 1996. That is something that has never even been close to happening, it’s almost like a football team winning every single game in one season, it’s just impossible and never heard of. No one has come close since and it is probably one of the only records in racing that won’t be beaten anytime soon.

Mike Smith 

(5,768 winners)    

A little bit of international flavour for the list, as Mike Smith is one of the very best to ride over in the US, with around 5,800 winners to his name, he has been top of the pile in America since the 1990s and has literally won anything and everything over in America. The all-time leading Breeders Cup jockey with 27, Mike is someway out in front of the rest and that is most likely a record that will not be beaten anytime soon. 

Mike is the third leading jockey of all time in earnings with over $336 million earned during his 40 year career. In 2018 he rode Justify to the Triple Crown, which is a culmination of three races that you have to win during one season; these races are for horses that are three-year-old, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. In the process of completing this Mike became the oldest jockey to win the title at age 52. Thousands of winners ridden during his distinguished career, with winners in pretty much off the top graded races in America, Mike Smith will go down in history as one of the very best and most distinguished riders in American racing history.  

Sir Gordon Richards

(4,870 winners)

In terms of Numerical figures, Sir Gordon Richards is at the very top of the pile, the winning most champion jockey in the UK with 26 wins of that title, he also holds the record with the most winners ridden in the UK by any jockey with 4,870, with Pat Eddery being in behind in 2nd with 4,632 winners ridden. 

Most records that could have been broken in racing were broken by Gordon Richards and are yet to be broken even still to this day, with the most winners in a single season by any jockey with 259 back in 1933, the closest someone has ever come to beating that was Frankie Dettori with 233 back in 2014. 

Gordon Richards absolutely dominated the 1920s and 1930s, winning his first jockey title back in 1925, he then won it a further 25 times between then and 1953, with just three other jockeys winning it in between during that 28 year stint. And the only reason he lost one during that time period was because Gordon suffered a broken leg during the season, so it ultimately handed the title to Henry Wragg who was the victor at the time in 1941. 

Another record broken by Gordon was that he exceeded Fred Archer’s career total of 2,749 winners, which was by far a record amount of winners for British riders at the time, and Gordon just broke that with consummate ease in the end.

Although Sir Gordon Richards was riding before pretty much all of our time, you can not deny his winning records speak for themselves and state that he could be argued as the very best that has been in the saddle. A pioneer of the sport that really got racing on the map with his skill and dedication to breaking records, and riding many top class winners during his 30+ year career. 

Ryan Moore 

(3,200+ winners currently)

A jockey that divides opinion for some reason, there is no denying that he is probably one of the best jockeys currently riding at the moment, with big winner after big winner week in, week out, there is never an instance where Ryan has his horses in the wrong place during a race. He is just the best at judging how a race can unfold, meaning his horses are always in the best places possible.   

A three-time British Champion Jockey back in 2006, 2008 and 2009, there is literally not a top-level race in the UK that Ryan has not won during his career. The current number one rider for Aidan O’Brien, he does get to ride some of the very best horses out there, but ultimately there is a reason he has that role, and a reason why he has held that for the longest, and that’s because he's an absolute professional who is incredible at his job.

As of 2024 Ryan has ridden over 200 Group and Grade 1 winners in the UK and internationally. He also has the most British Group or/and Listed wins of any active jockey at the moment, and has won every Irish and British Classic at least once. A 17-time British Classic winner, there is still plenty of time for him to get even more under his belt and catch up to Lester Piggott’s record of 30, something that we might not see get broken anytime soon. He's also the only rider to have won at least one race a year in the QIPCO British Champions Series since its inception in 2011. The partnership between Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore is arguably the most powerful in modern British racing and it continues to thrive year upon year, season upon season.