In 1984, 17-year-old jockey Mike Smith was given a leg up on Loblolly Stable’s 3-year-old colt Pine Circle by future Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. They were at Churchill Downs for the 110^th running of the Kentucky Derby. This was his first of 28 Kentucky Derbys and he finished sixth. Smith remembered, “It was a little bit overwhelming. I was nervous but excited. Once you get on and you get through ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ and start warming up, it’s race time. You just get focused and you forget about all that stuff. Now you’re in some kind of control. So that takes away all that anxiety and nerves, because now you’ve got to focus and perform.”  While he finished sixth, he said “the coolest thing was after the race was over, I got to ride in the limo to the airport with Howard Cosell!”

Smith started riding in New Mexico at the age of 11. He got his license at 16 years old. By the time he was 17 and at his first Derby, he was on the precipice of a brilliant career. Smith returned in 1990 to ride Thirty Six Red and in 1992 with Devil His Due. He and Prairie Bayou were in a thrilling three-horse photo finish for second in the 1993 Derby, which was won by Sea Hero. 

Smith and Prairie Bayou, far, run second in the 1993 Kentucky Derby (Skip Dickstein/BloodHorse)

Smith said of the runner-up finish: “I thought I was on the best horse that day and I didn’t get the best of trip. The circumstances didn’t quite go as good as I’d like them to have.” But Smith and Prairie Bayou partnered again and won the Preakness that year over Sea Hero.

If Smith had a crystal ball back then, he would have been thrilled at what was ahead. His career includes winning Eclipse Awards as outstanding jockey in 1993 and 1994, being inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2003, winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby, sweeping the 2018 Triple Crown, and numerous other triumphs in Triple Crown races. He was awarded the George Woolf Jockey Award in 2000, which recognizes a rider who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional character. He holds the record for the most Breeders’ Cup wins (27) and some of his top horses include Arrogate, Zenyatta, Songbird, Azeri, Drosselmeyer, Royal Delta, and Abel Tasman to mention a few! Out of more than 35,000 starts, he has more than 5,800 wins with $357.6 million in purse earnings.

Smith is known for being a calm and collected rider who thrives in high-pressure races. Deeply spiritual and humble, he is dedicated to a physical fitness regime that keeps him at the top of his game. For him, it’s all about the horse and he has a rare talent to connect swiftly with them.

Smith said of the Kentucky Derby, “You can’t treat the Derby like it’s just any other race. If you think it’s just another race, there’s something wrong with you. Certainly, there are butterflies. Riding in the Derby is why we all do this. You try to harness your feelings and use that energy to your advantage instead of having it become destructive to what you’re trying to do.”

Smith wins 1994 Florida Derby on Holy Bull (BloodHorse Library/Leslie Martin photo)

There is a strategy for every race. He explained, “You have a few game plans. You’ve got to learn to slow things down so that you can adjust and react, because everything’s going to change when the [starting gate] open. Sometimes it goes just as planned. Hopefully, you’re getting into a good position where you’ve gotten into a good rhythm and no one’s running over the top of you. You’re able to get your horse to settle nicely. Once you get them in a good, comfortable rhythm as soon as possible, then you’ve got to work out a trip from there, whether it be up close, mid-pack or way back. You get a good rhythm; they’re going to run for you and then you’ve got a chance.

In 2002 at the 128^th running of the Kentucky Derby, Smith and Proud Citizen came in second to War Emblem. “I thought he just ran brilliant. War Emblem broke extremely well, got a good lead, he ran really well and I was happy with that.”

In 2005 at the 131^st running of the Derby, Smith won riding Jerry and Ann Moss’s Giacomo. (The Mosses would later race Hall of Famer Zenyatta.) Giacomo was trained by John Shirreffs, who passed away Feb. 12, 2026 and was recently elected to the Hall of Fame. Smith remembered that experience: “The week we got to spend there with him was fun. It was so laid back and we were so relaxed. We were a longshot going in, and we weren’t even on the radar. We felt we had a big chance. John was so happy with the way the horse was training and how he was going over the ground, and I was as well. We just knew he was going to run well.”

Smith on Giacomo, with Shirreffs at right, after Derby win (Anne M. Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

His first Kentucky Derby victory was important to Smith as he had a difficult loss on Holy Bull in the 1994 Derby. They finished 12^th after a poor start where they were squeezed and bumped. Smith felt that it was a sign that he was riding Holy Bull’s son Giacomo and told a reporter, “Ain’t no way I’m gonna get beat on his son. It’s impossible, it’s like an omen! ” Holy Bull went on after the Kentucky Derby to win 1994 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male after beating older horses in the Met Mile and Woodward Stakes and sweeping the Haskell Invitational Handicap and Travers Stakes against 3-year-olds.  

In front of a massive crowd of 156,435, Smith and Giacomo left the starting gate at 50-1 odds and they pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Derby history. Before the race, Jerry Moss slipped a $200 win ticket into Smith’s boot. In the confusion amidst the winner’s circle ceremonies, Shirreffs was walking to the barn with Giacomo. “We had to yell at him to get back and get in the winner’s circle. He liked everybody else to celebrate and he would rather walk back the horse, but I’m glad that he went there with us, because he really enjoyed it. We all had fun.”  

Alicia Hughes, director of communications for Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co., attended the 2005 Kentucky Derby press conference. “What I remember most in the aftermath of what had indeed been an upset victory was the ‘Proud Father’ demeanor that came over Mike Smith as he spent nearly as much time in the press conference talking about Holy Bull as he did about his victorious son Giacomo,” she said. “Mike’s connection with his mounts is well-documented, and when he declared he was wearing a Holy Bull T-shirt under his pink and green silks that day, it summed up why the emotions of his first Kentucky Derby victory resonated for more than just the obvious reasons.”

Smith after 2018 Kentucky Derby win on Justify (Eclipse Sportswire)

What does it feel like to win the Kentucky Derby? Smith mulled over the question and said, “I wish I could explain. It’s just life-changing. It’s a feeling that you can’t describe. The only way you feel it is to win it. I can’t put it into words what it is, because it’s just incredible. It’s just the most humble you’ve ever felt. You think of people who helped you out that got you where you’re at. You think of all kinds of things and it’s a lot of different feelings.”

After a win – Smith always takes a moment on the backside. “It’s my little moment to say a prayer of gratitude and thanks. For everybody making it back and allowing this to happen and really bless us with this opportunity. That’s my little time to gather my thoughts and feelings.”

In 12 editions of the Kentucky Derby from 2006 to 2017, Smith rode 11 times in the race. He came in second with Bob Baffert’s Bodemeister in 2012. In 2013, he and Palace Malice came in 12^th behind Orb. But with continued faith and support from trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Dogwood Stables, Smith and Palace Malice won the Belmont that year. In addition, Smith won the 2013 Kentucky Oaks on Pletcher’s Princess of Sylmar.

In 2018, Smith returned to the Derby on Baffert’s Justify. “He was all horse, all power, all class, but extremely athletic, well-balanced, with an extremely high IQ,” Smith said. “He was really fun to ride. He was very big and beautiful. But one that you wouldn’t want to touch on the ground, because he’d probably eat your head off. He didn’t mind you to love him, when you’re on him. He was actually kind and easy to handle. You just pointed him in a direction that you wanted him to go, and he went!” 

Smith and Justify won on the wettest day in Derby history with more than three inches of rain, as Justify broke the “Curse of Apollo” by becoming the first Derby winner since Apollo in 1882 to win the run for the roses without a start as a 2-year-old.

Smith wins the 2018 Kentucky Derby on Justify (Eclipse Sportswire)

Smith said, “I just knew he was capable of this. My job was to get him out of there. I did that part and I figured the rest was up to him. I just kept a leg on each side and my mind in the middle.”

Winning the Kentucky Derby opens the door to dreams of a Triple Crown and that’s exactly what Smith and Justify accomplished as the 13^th Triple Crown winner. At 51 years old while still aboard Justify, he took off his helmet and looked skyward and gave thanks. “This horse ran a tremendous race; he’s so gifted. He’s sent from heaven; it’s just amazing.”  

Smith has ridden in four editions of the Derby since Justify’s win, with a fourth-place finish aboard Honor A. P. in 2020 the best result since his last win. This year he is riding trainer Mark Glatt’s colt So Happy and he likes his chances.

“He’s just a blue-collar kind of horse. He’s not flashy, he’s a good-looking colt," Smith said of. the Santa Anita Derby winner. "He’s really well made and he’s got good size to him. He has talent, but we just didn’t know how much because he only does what he has to do in the morning. If I push the pedal a little faster, then he just goes faster. And he’s getting good.” Smith pointed out that So Happy has improved after each of his races and hopes “that he’ll even improve a little more, and if he does that, he’s not without a really big chance!”

Smith exercises So Happy April 24 at Churchill Downs (Eclipse Sportswire)

This is Glatt’s first Derby horse and he is confident in Smith, who he feels is a recipe for success. Glatt explained, “It’s mostly up to the horse. He’ll have to get him well positioned, hopefully, depending upon the post draw. Then it’s just his experience from there. He knows the horse very well, and I couldn’t be happier having him for the race. Once that gate opens, it’s going to be up to Mike.” 

Approaching his record-extending 29^th Derby mount over 42 years, Mike Smith is an institution, an icon, and an indelible part of horse racing history. When asked what would he tell his 17-year-old self at his first Derby? He gave it some thought and responded: “It’s just the way you learn. I’m not going to say you learn from your mistakes. You learn how to handle pressure and not get too caught up into things too early. And no matter how caught up you’re going to get into it, it doesn’t change anything. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it — the learning —  and that’s what’s cool about them all. It’s a different experience every time.”

From the 110^th Kentucky Derby to the 152^nd Kentucky Derby, we are watching history in the making and it’s glorious!