08/10/2026
Happy, Happy Birthday to Hall of Fame Jockey Mike Smith!!🎉🐎🧲
Happy birthday to Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, a member of the class of 2003. Smith rode his first winner at Santa Fe in his home state of New Mexico in 1982. He rose to stardom in the 1990s, winning the first of his record 27 Breeders’ Cup races in 1992, and winning the Eclipse Award in 1993 and 1994. Smith has won seven Triple crown races, including a sweep of the series in 2018 with undefeated Justify. He also won the Kentucky Derby in 2005 with 50-1 longshot Giacomo; the Preakness in 1993 with Prairie Bayou; and the Belmont in 2010 with Drosselmeyer and 2013 with Palace Malice. Four of Smith’s Breeders’ Cup wins have come in the Classic, with Hall of Famers Skip Away (1997) and Zenyatta (2009), as well as Drosselmeyer (2011) and champion Arrogate (2016). He has won five editions of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, with the Hall of Famers Inside Information (1995), Azeri (2002), Zenyatta (2008), and Royal Delta (2012), as well as Ajina (1997). Smith has also ridden Hall of Famers Holy Bull, Lure, Heavenly Prize, and Sky Beauty, among others. He earned his 5,000th career victory in 2012 aboard champion Amazombie at Santa Anita. In December of 2019, Smith won his 217th Grade 1 race, breaking the record previously held by Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey. Through early August, Smith has won 5,800-plus races with purse earnings of more than $358 million.
Photo: Mike Smith at Santa Anita Park, 2023 (Brien Bouyea photo)
