Jockeys’ Championships 2019/2020
Both codes of horse racing in the UK and Ireland include a jockeys’ championship which runs throughout the season. The jockey with the most winners at the end of the campaign is crowned the Champion Jockey.
Flat Jockeys’ Championship Betting
The winner of the Flat Jockeys’ Championship is not always who is the best Flat jockey in the sport at that moment in time. Many of the leading riders today do not ride enough to have a realistic chance of scooping this prize.
That said, it takes a great amount of skill and dedication to win the award and the achievement should not be undervalued.
When you go through the course of history, some of the great Flat riders have been Champion Jockeys, including Gordon Richards, Scobie Breasley, Lester Piggott, Pat Eddery and Frankie Dettori.
Flat Jockeys Championship Odds
In 2019 Oisin Murphy won the title for the first time in his career with 168 winners. That was the biggest total since Richard Hughes was successful in 2013 with 208 winners in the year.
The Flat Jockeys’ Championship runs from early May through to October, with the British Champion Series the final meeting which counts towards the standings.
Murphy is odds-on at 4/6* in the Flat Jockeys’ Championship betting to defend his crown in 2020. His biggest challengers are likely to be Silvestre De Sousa and Daniel Tudhope, they both have Jockeys’ Championship odds of 5/1*.
Leading Jockeys – Flat Jockeys Championship 2019/2020 – by Total-Prize-Money
| Jockey | No. of Wins | No. of Rides | Total Prize Money* | Bet on Jockeys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oisin Murphy | 168 | 860 | £3,790,721 | Bet with |
| Daniel Tudhope | 133 | 636 | £2,635,815 | Bet with |
| Jim Crowley | 99 | 426 | £2,856,416 | Bet with |
| Tom Marquand | 90 | 635 | £1,126,630 | Bet with |
| PJ McDonald | 82 | 553 | £1,445,040 | Bet with |
*Statistics at time of writing March 2020.
National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship Betting
The National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship has been dominated by Tony McCoy, who is the leading jumps jockey championship winner with 20 titles before retiring in 2015.
McCoy’s retirement opened the door for Richard Johnson to claim the title in 2016. Johnson so often had to settle for second place behind his rival but he has now won the award four times.
The Jump Jockeys Championship is decided on ridden winners in National Hunt races from 4 May 2019 to 25 April 2020. Brian Hughes is expected to be a new name on the title in 2020 when the 2019/20 is finally officially wrapped up. The Northern-based jockey has had the best season of his career so far.
Johnson is the favourite in the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship betting to become Champion Jockey for the fifth time next year. The campaign will run from early May 2020 through to the end of April 2021.
Leading Jockeys – National Hunt 2019/2020 – by Total-Prize-Money
| Jockey | No. of Wins | No. of Rides | Total Prize Money* | Bet on Jockeys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hughes | 141 | 716 | £1,309,714 | Bet with |
| Richard Johnson | 122 | 669 | £1,206,688 | Bet with |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 99 | 589 | £1,623,215 | Bet with |
| Harry Skelton | 97 | 473 | £1,428,847 | Bet with |
| Harry Cobden | 83 | 399 | £1,513,102 | Bet with |
*Statistics at time of writing March 2020.
FILE PHOTO: Horse Racing – Cheltenham Festival – Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Britain – March 16, 2018 Richard Johnson on Native River celebrates after winning the 15.30 Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo/Ritzau Scanpix
Conditional Jockeys’ Championship Betting
The Conditional Jockeys’ Championship runs in National Hunt racing for jockeys who are able to claim weight for their ride.
Conditional jockeys can claim 7lb on their ride until they have ridden 20 winners. They are able to take 5lb off until they have 40 winners to their name, while it is 3lb up until they reach 75 winners. An additional 3lb is also taken off for Conditional Jockeys with fewer than five winners and are riding for their own stable.
Jonjo O’Neill Jr leads the way in the 2019/20 table and is expected to win the title. Ben Jones and Connor Brace and Rex Dingle are names which will be hoping to challenge for the crown next season.
Leading Jockeys – Conditional Jockeys 2019/2020 – by Total-Prize-Money
The Conditional Jump Jockeys Championship is decided on ridden winners of National Hunt races from 4 May 2019 to 25 April 2020:
| Jockey | No. of Wins | No. of Rides | Total Prize Money* | Bet on Jockeys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonjo O’Neill Jr | 60 | 344 | £632,476 | Bet with |
| Ben Jones | 34 | 168 | £520,872 | Bet with |
| Connor Brace | 34 | 234 | £296,684 | Bet with |
| Danny McMenamin | 27 | 218 | £233,682 | Bet with |
| Rex Dingle | 24 | 143 | £1,513,102 | Bet with |
*Statistics at time of writing March 2020.
All-weather Jockeys’ Championship Betting
The British All-Weather Jockeys’ Championship takes place from late October through to late April. The winner is decided by the jockey who rides the most winners in this period on all-weather tracks.
Ben Curtis has had an exceptional year over the last 12 months. He is set to be crowned the winner for the 2019/20 campaign as he has over 100 winners to his name in the jockey stats for this surface.
Leading Jockeys – All Weather Jockeys 2019/2020 – by Total-Prize-Money
The Conditional Jump Jockeys Championship is decided on ridden winners of flat races taking place on the All Weather between 22/10/19 to 10/04/20:
| Jockey | No. of Wins | No. of Rides | Total Prize Money* | Bet on Jockeys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Curtis | 101 | 476 | £657,804 | Bet with |
| Luke Morris | 67 | 569 | £488,546 | Bet with |
| Hollie Doyle | 58 | 364 | £508,529 | Bet with |
| Jason Hart | 41 | 238 | £248,006 | Bet with |
| Jack Mitchell | 40 | 213 | £293,671 | Bet with |
*Statistics at time of writing March 2020.
Trainers’ Championship
There are also championship titles handed out to trainers in Flat and National Hunt racing. In the UK, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have dominated this award over the last couple of decades. They are the top two in the National Hunt Trainers’ Championship betting for the 2020/21 season.
In Ireland, Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have been involved in a fascinating dual for the Irish National Hunt Trainers Championship over the last three years. Those two men are expected to be locked into a great battle for the title once again in 2020.
*Odds subject to change.