Mike Smith

Jockey Profile

Mike Smith

Mike Smith was born on the 10th of August 1965 in New Mexico. He is one of the top riders in the United States. Smith started riding at 11 and took his jockey's license when he was only 16. He left New Mexico in 1983 and started riding mainly in the Midwest where he received his apprenticeship at Canterbury Downs.

He moved to New York in 1989 and in 1991 won the Irish 2000 Guineas, making him one of the very few US riders to ever win a European Classic. In 1993 he set a new North American record with 62 stakes wins. In 1994, his own record was broken when he recorded 68 stakes wins.

In 1998 he suffered two serious injuries whilst racing that kept him from riding. The first was a broken shoulder which kept him out of riding for two months, and the second was when he broke his back and ended up in a body cast for a few months.

Mike Smith became an inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003. Horse riding is clearly in Smiths blood; his father was a jockey too. His most famous and unexpected victory came in the 2005 Kentucky Derby aboard the huge longshot Giacomo.

Mike Smith - 10 Notable Wins

1997 Queen's Plate (Awesome Again)

1998 Dwyer Stakes (Coronado's Quest)

1999 E. P. Taylor Stakes (Insight)

2000 Breeders' Stakes (Lodge Hill)

2002 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (Vindication)

2003 Clement L. Hirsch Handicap (Azeri)

2004 Preakness Stakes (Point Given)

2005 Kentucky Derby (Giacomo)

2006 San Diego Handicap (Giacomo)

2007 Hollywood Gold Cup (Daytona)