Being a professional jockey is an incredibly tough calling. Guiding a half-ton-plus racehorse around an oval while making split-second decisions at speeds of about 35 miles per hour – all  while trying to maintain a weight of about 120 pounds – is not a profession for the faint of heart.

Jockeys are amazing athletes, and the pinnacle of the sport is the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve run the first Saturday of May every spring under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. Here are 12 interesting facts about jockeys in the first jewel of U.S. Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.

Count Fleet winning the 1943 Kentucky Derby. (BloodHorse photo)

1. Only one jockey has ever won the Kentucky Derby as both a jockey and a trainer: Hall of Famer Johnny Longden. Longdon was the rider of 1943 Triple Crown victor Count Fleet and trained 1969 Kentucky Derby winner Majestic Prince.

2. Likewise, only one rider has ever won both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby: Hall of Famer Steve Cauthen. Affirmed and Cauthen swept the Triple Crown in 1978, and he went on to great success in Europe and won the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor in 1985 and Reference Point in 1987.

3. Speaking of doubles, in 2024 Brian Hernandez Jr. became just the eighth rider ever to sweep the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies and the Kentucky Derby in the same year when he guided Thorpedo Anna to a 4 ¾-length win May 3 in the Longines Kentucky Oaks and Mystik Dan  to a nose win May 4 in the Kentucky Derby. It had been 15 years since Calvin Borel swept the Oaks and Derby in 2009 with Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird.

4. Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack are the all-time winningest jockeys in the history of the race with five Kentucky Derby victories apiece. Arcaro won with Lawrin (1938), Whirlaway (1941), Hoop Jr (1945), Citation (1948), and Hill Gail (1952). Hartack’s Derby victories came aboard Iron Liege (1957), Venetian Way (1960), Decidedly (1962), Northern Dancer (1964), and Majestic Prince (1969). Bill Shoemaker ranks third with four Kentucky Derby wins followed by eight jockeys with three Derby victories, including active riders John Velazquez, Victor Espinoza, Calvin Borel, and Kent Desormeaux.

Mike Smith after 2018 Derby win aboard Justify. (Eclipse Sportswire)

5. Active Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith is the all-time leader with 28 mounts in the Kentucky Derby, winning in 2005 with Giacomo and in 2018 on Triple Crown winner Justify. Another active Hall of Fame rider, John Velazquez, is tied for second with Bill Shoemaker with 26 Derby starters. Velazquez’s three Kentucky Derby wins came with Animal Kingdom (2011), Always Dreaming (2017), and Authentic (2020).

6. The oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby was Bill Shoemaker, who guided Ferdinand to victory in 1986 at age 54. Mike Smith was 52 years old when he won aboard Justify in 2018, John Velazquez won at age 48 in 2020 aboard Authentic, Javier Castellano was 45 when he won aboard Mage in 2023, and Calvin Borel guided Super Saver to a Derby win in 2010 at 43 years old.

7. The youngest Kentucky Derby-winning riders were 15 years old when they won the race: Alonzo Clayton aboard Azra in 1892 and James “Soup” Perkins on Halma in 1895.

8. Only two apprentice riders have won the Kentucky Derby: Ira Hanford on Bold Venture (1936) and Bill Boland with Middleground (1950).

9. Black jockeys dominated the early running of the Kentucky Derby, winning 15 editions from 1875 through 1902. Eleven different Black riders won the Kentucky Derby, beginning with Oliver Lewis in the inaugural edition in 1875. The others were William “Billy” Walker, George Garret Lewis, Babe Hurd, Isaac Murphy (3 wins), Erskine “Babe” Henderson, Isaac Lewis, Alonzo “Lonnie” Clayton, James “Soup” Perkins, Willie Simms (2 wins), and Jimmy Winkfield (2 wins).

Diane Crump before first career race. (Jim Raftery/Turfotos)

10. Six different women have ridden in the Kentucky Derby with Diane Crump becoming the first in 1970 aboard Fathom. Patricia “P.J.” Cooksey, Andrea Seefeldt, Julie Krone, Rosemary Homeister Jr., and Rosie Napravnik also have competed in the first jewel of the Triple Crown. Napravnik finished fifth aboard Mylute, the best result from this group, in her second of three Derby starts.

11. Twenty-eight jockeys won the Kentucky Derby with their first starter in the race, including three since the turn of the century: Stewart Elliott (2004, Smarty Jones), Mario Gutierrez (2012, I’ll Have Another), and Sonny Leon (2022, Rich Strike).

12. Six jockeys have won back-to-back editions of the Kentucky Derby. Isaac Murphy was the first to accomplish the feat in 1890 with Riley and 1891 with Kingman. Jimmy Winkfield (1901-’02), Ron Turcotte (1972-’73), Eddie Delahoussaye (1982-’83), Calvin Borel (2009-’10), and Victor Espinoza (2014-’15) also won back-to-back editions of the Kentucky Derby.