How much influence does a jockey have on a horse's success?

Question

Is the jockey just there to steer the horse towards the finish or does he play a much more active role in determining whether a horse wins a race or not?

I presume the jockey plays a crucial role in determining exactly when a horse should kick hard for the finish. If it goes too early it might slow down because it hasn't got any other horse in sight pushing it along.

Do good jockeys balance themselves better so that they complement the movement of the horse better? Presumably you only need to be a little bit out of sinc with the horse for it to disturb the stride and fluency of the horse.

Also, I presume good jockeys steer a sensible course so that they balance the need to minimise the distance a horse travels against the danger of getting boxed in on the inside rail.

Are these genuine factors or do they make little or no difference in practice. Are there any other factors affected by jockeys.

Answer 1

Yes a good jocky that gets along well with the horse well is a must.

Answer 2

The trainer actually has more of a role in how a horse does than the jockey.  If the horse doesn't have enough bottom on them they will not finish right.  That is the Trainer's job.

The Trainer also tells the jockey how to ride the horse.  

Some horses can only run on the engine.  Others come from out of it. It is the trainers job to know and relay the information to the jockeys.  If you ride 8 to 10 horses a day like some jockey's do. How are you suppose to remember all that information?

Answer 3

i agree with u

Answer 4

You've made some good points already. I would add that jockeys need great strength - time and time again to push horses out to win - they do weigh over a ton and a determined horse is hard to manouevere.

The best jockeys will research the horses style of running whether it runs smart out of the gates or likes to be held up and then driven at the end of the race. My favorite horse Giants Causeway liked nothing better than a good duel up front and it had a huge will to win - There again horses like that are few and far between.

In addition the horses temperant needs to be taken into account - a caring, relaxed and a patient attitude towards horses will get the best out of the horse in many a race.

Answer 5

The jockey has a whole load to do with it, as can be highlighted by different jockeys strike rates. Obviously some jockeys get to ride better horses which helps, but the best jockeys study the horse they are riding and the tactics best suited to it.

If you use analysis of jockeys riding horses at a certain price this would be a quick way to identify that some seem better equipped than others. As an example i ran a quick query to illustrate my point.

Riding in UK or Ireland on flat courses on horses priced between Evens and 2/1 that had more than 25 rides, the top jockeys have strike rates of 40% and higher but there are some who have shocking strike rates with the worst being 14.1%.

Obviously you can have one or two moments of bad luck or times when a horse is incorrectly too short in the market, but with a relatively large data source, it would seem feasible to presume those with the significantly higher strike rates are performing with more skill than those with very bad ones!

A good jockey would know if a horse likes a bit of cover or prefers to run free, whether it has a good turn of foot and if so when to ask it for a serious effort and also other characteristics such as its response to the whip.

So yes the factors you mention are all good illustrations of a jockeys ability and the key to nearly everything is his/her decision making and timing.

Answer 6

all jockeys are pinheads whose influence is vastly overrated, the HORSES are the real talent ,ive seen good horses overcome bad jockeys.

Answer 7

A quality jockey is essential to getting a horse over the line, a good jockey can read the track pace and the how the horses around him are travelling. Quality riders are able to find good runs even from a bad draw, Just last week an apprentice jockey  having her first start in the perth cup over 3200m crossed over without room causing 6 horses to fall and 2 put down. Good jockeys can feel what the horse is wanting to do and gets the best out of them adding a few lengths to an averge  horse, saying that u could have put a monkey on makyby diva still would have won 3 melbourne cups, but thats  a rare, DONT discard the jockey

Answer 8

If jockeys didn't matter, then they would train monkeys to ride.

Yes the jockey matters!

The more familiar a horse and rider are, the better they can communicate.  A good jockey is a MUST.  A GREAT jockey is worth their weight in platinum.

Balance, and timing, not to mention knowledge of the course....the tack conditions, and how each horse runs is vitally important...

Not to mention,some horses will run better for some then for others.  Some don't get along with others at all.  So therefore, yes there is a great deal of influence involved.

Answer 9

90 % of my decision on which horse to bet on is based on WHO is riding it.  I look at how much the jockey has made rather than how much the horse has made.  It is only the EXPERIENCED and GOOD jockey that can bring a horse up to winner circle.  They have the winning attitude and want to win. The others just ride.