Jockey earnings?

Question

about how much do jockeys make for running a race? do they get money for winning, or just running, or do they get a percent of the purse or what?

Answer 1

It depends on the state and the type of race and whether the jockey comes in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or worse.  Jockeys are curently fighting for higher fees all over the country.  Mount fees for a typical race are only $35 to $55, leaving the jockeys between $12 to $25 per race after making the payments. Those mount fees are paid by the horse owners.  If a horse comes in first, second, third, fourth or sometimes fifth, a higher fee (usually a % of the earnings) will be paid to the jockey.

Most of the jockeys in the Kentucky Derby (those who don't come in 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th (and maybe 5th) will get only $100 for what is known as a "mount fee."Out of that, they have to pay 25 to 30 percent to their agents, and another 5 to 10 percent to their valet who helps them with their equipment. Those payments, as well as insurance and union dues, leave most riders with only about $50 of their Derby mount fee, not enough to buy a ticket for Churchill Downs this Saturday.

There are some highly paid jockeys.  These are jockeys who are known to be excellent at what they do, get top horses and win a lot.  For example, John Velazquez received about $2 million in 2006, some of which he shared with valets, agents etc.  In 2006, the top 100 jockeys received about 57 percent of the purse money that went to riders, leaving the typical pay for other active jockeys to be about $35,000 to $40,000 for a job that requires frequent travel and other expenses as well as risking your life every time you race.