STUDY: Is the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys rising?

In the early days of the Kentucky Derby (G1), the winning jockeys were often young. Alonzo Clayton and James “Soup” Perkins were only 15 years old when they won the Derby in 1892 and 1895, respectively.

Kentucky Derby starters were asked to carry less weight in those days; as little as 97 or 100 pounds in the first few editions following the Derby’s 1875 inauguration. The current standard weight of 126 pounds (121 pounds for fillies) didn’t come into play until 1920.

In decades since, it’s become rare for teenage jockeys to win the Kentucky Derby. At the same time, jockeys in their 40s and even their 50s have enjoyed increasing success in the Run for the Roses.

In 2018, Mike Smith became the second-oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, guiding Justify to victory.

Anecdotally, it appears the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys has increased over the past 100 years. Does this hold up under closer scrutiny? Let’s analyze the data and find out.

Average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys: research methodology

We’ve reviewed 100 years of Kentucky Derby history from 1925 through 2024. We’ve listed the age of every Derby-winning jockey and calculated the average age of the winning jockeys across 10-year periods (1925-1934, 1935-1944, 1945-1954, etc.). This will allow us to chart whether the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys is indeed increasing.

One note: the listed jockey ages are based on the birthday the jockey celebrated in the year of his Kentucky Derby win. Bill Shoemaker is listed as winning the 1986 Kentucky Derby at age 55 because he turned 55 in 1986, even though he didn’t celebrate his 55th birthday until 3 1/2 months after the 1986 Kentucky Derby.

Average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys: data analysis

The following chart shows the ages of every Kentucky Derby-winning jockey of the past 100 years, along with the average age for each 10-year period:

From 1925 through 1964, the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys held fairly steady, ranging from a low of 24.8 years to a high of 27.1 years. A handful of teenage jockeys won the Derby during this 40-year timeframe, while the oldest Derby-winning jockeys turned 36 years old the year they won.

However, the average winning age jumped to 32.2 years in the 1965-1974 period. Eight of the 10 jockeys in the timeframe were in their 30s the year they won the Derby, whereas none of the previous 10-year samples contained more than three Derby-winning jockeys in their 30s.

The story was much the same from 1975-1984. While Steve Cauthen (18) and Ronnie Franklin (20, though actually 19 on the day of his Derby win) lowered the average winning age slightly to 31.3 years, the remaining eight Derby-winning jockeys ranged in age from 31 years to 38 years.

Cauthen and Franklin remain the last teens to win the Kentucky Derby. From 1985-1994 the average age of Derby-winning jockeys climbed to 36 years. In 1985, Angel Cordero Jr. became the first jockey in our 100-year sample to win the Derby past the age of 40, and the following year Bill Shoemaker became the first winner past the age of 50. Seven of the 10 Derby-winning jockeys were in their 30s or older, and the youngest was 25.

Without Shoemaker contributing a record, the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys from 1995-2004 decreased slightly to 34.7 years. But nine of the 10 were aged 30 or older, including two who turned 40 the year they won.

The average age of Derby-winning jockeys climbed to 38.1 years in 2005-2014, when six Derby-winning jockeys turned 40 or older in the year of their triumph. Two others were in their 30s, and the youngest—Mario Gutierrez—turned 26 the year he won.

The latest sample, 2015-2024, saw the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys climb again to a record 40 years. Mike Smith (who turned 53 in 2018), John Velazquez (49 in 2020), and Javier Castellano (46 in 2023) became the second-, third-, and fourth-oldest winning jockeys in Derby history. The youngest winner in the sample was Flavien Prat, who turned 27 in 2019.

Conclusions

Starting in the late 1960s, the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys has steadily climbed with only minor setbacks along the way. The average for 2015-2024—40 years—is 48% higher than the 27.1 years from 1955-1964 and 61% higher than the low of 24.8 years from 1935-1944.

Furthermore, in the 50 years from 1925-1974, the average age of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys was 27.4 years. That number increased 31% to an average age 36 years from 1975-2024.

Many factors may be influencing the rising average age of Kentucky Derby-winning riders. Just to speculate, the average age of all jockeys may be increasing, and there may be fewer jockeys getting started as teenagers than there were a century ago.

Also, the Kentucky Derby is a challenging race to ride. It’s the only Thoroughbred horse race in North American that routinely features a 20-horse field. Judging the pace and navigating through traffic isn’t easy, and experience may be one reason why older jockeys are enjoying increasing success in the Run for the Roses.