Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance, for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
Thoroughbred horse racing is an important spectator sport in Australia, and gambling on horse races is a very popular pastime with A$14.3 billion wagered in 2009/10 with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). The two forms of Thoroughbred horseracing in Australia are flat racing, and races over fences or hurdles in Victoria and South Australia. Thoroughbred racing is the third most attended spectator sport in Australia, behind Australian rules football and rugby league, with almost two million admissions to 360 registered racecourses throughout Australia in 2009/10. Horseracing commenced soon after European settlement, and is now well-appointed with automatic totalizators, starting gates and photo finish cameras on nearly all Australian racecourses.
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100-120 lb. and physically fit. They are typically self employed and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings.
Darren Gauci is a former Australian jockey.
Gérald Mossé is a jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding professionally in April 1983 and his success during his apprenticeship under Patrick-Louis Biancone led to an offer to ride for renowned trainer François Boutin and his stable of horses belonging to Jean-Luc Lagardère. Mossé went on to become one of his country's top jockeys, winning the 1990 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In 1991, he rode Arazi to five straight wins in France then spent 1992 and part of 1993 racing in Hong Kong.
Anthony Stephen da Cruz is a prominent horse trainer and former Champion Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.
Anthony Delpech is a thoroughbred horse racing jockey who competes internationally.
George Thomas Donald MooreOBE was an Australian jockey and Thoroughbred horse trainer. He began his career in racing in 1939 in Brisbane where he quickly became one of the top apprentice jockeys and where in 1943 he won the Senior Jockeys' Premiership. He then relocated to Sydney and in 1949 went to work for trainer Tommy J. Smith with whom he would have considerable success.
Jim Cassidy, often referred to as "Jimmy" is a retired New Zealand jockey who has been inducted in both the Australian Racing Hall of Fame and the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.
Robbie Fradd is a jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.
Brett Prebble is a leading Australian jockey, currently based in Melbourne, Victoria. Having ridden over 1200 career winners, Prebble’s most famous win came aboard Green Moon in the 2012 Emirates Melbourne Cup.
Darren Beadman is an Australian champion jockey. In 2007 at age 41 he was the youngest jockey ever to be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, being the first to do so while still active.
Umberto Rispoli is a horse racing jockey. He commenced his apprenticeship in 2005 and graduated to the senior ranks in 2010. He was a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club until December 2019 when he moved his tack to Southern California. As of June 2021, Rispoli has accrued over $11 million in purses and won 189 races.
Military Attack is an Irish-bred, Hong Kong trained Thoroughbred racehorse. Unraced as a two-year-old he showed promising form in Britain in 2011 before being sold to race in Hong Kong. He continued to show useful but unexceptional form before emerging as a dominant middle-distance performer in the early part of 2013, winning the January Cup, Hong Kong Gold Cup, Premier Plate, Queen Elizabeth II Cup and Singapore Airlines International Cup. In July 2013 at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Champion Awards, he won three awards including the title of Hong Kong Horse of the Year.
Designs On Rome is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known for his performances in Hong Kong where he was named Horse of the Year in 2014.
Able Friend is an Australian-bred, Hong Kong-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing some promise when winning one of his two races in his native country, the gelding was transferred to race in Hong Kong in 2013. In the 2013/2014 season he established himself as one of the best milers in Hong Kong with four wins including the Hong Kong Classic Mile and the Chairman's Trophy from seven races. In the following season his wins in the Jockey Club Mile (2014) and Hong Kong Mile saw him rated among the best racehorses in the world. By the International Ratings of 127, he was officially the highest internationally rated Hong Kong racehorse ever. He was crowned as the Hong Kong Horse of the Year in 2015.
Cédric Ségeon is a French professional jockey, popularly known as "Frenchie". With about 700 wins around the world including the Macau Derby with Analyst, he is widely regarded as a globetrotter.
Beauty Generation is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his performances in Hong Kong. He began his career as a three-year-old in Australia where he won two races and ran second in the Rosehill Guineas before being exported to Hong Kong.
James Hugh Bowman is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Based in Sydney, Bowman has won the New South Wales Metropolitan Jockey Premiership four times and has ridden 99 Group 1 winners. He was the jockey for Australian champion mare Winx from 2014 through to her retirement in 2019. In 2017, Bowman won the Longines World’s Best Jockey award presented by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The award capped off a year in which he added to his domestic success with international Group 1 wins in Hong Kong and Japan. In 2019, he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest accolade. Bowman is also renowned for his “She’s Apples” winning salute and his nickname of “the Undisputed Group 1 King”.
Kevin Shea is a former South African horse racing jockey. He was a former stable jockey for trainer Mike de Kock, and rode 26 Grade 1 winners for the trainer.
