Who is the reigning champion jockey?

In Britain, of course, horse racing is staged under two ‘codes’, Flat and National Hunt, and each discipline has its own jockeys’ championship and corresponding champion jockey.

The jump jockeys’ championship, currently sponsored by British infrastructure company Stobart, is decided on the total number of winners ridden in National Hunt races between early May and late April. At the time of writing, in late April, 2019, the newly-crowned champion jockey is Richard Johnson, who took the title, for the fourth year running, with 200 winners, 22 ahead of his nearest rival, Harry Skelton.

The flat jockeys’ championship, also sponsored by Stobart, is decided on the total number of winners ridden in Flat races, on turf or synthetic, ‘all-weather’ surfaces, between early May and mid-October. Consequently, the flat jockeys’ championship for 2019 has yet to begin, but the reigning champion jockey is Brazilian-born Silvestre De Sousa, who took the 2018 title, for the third time in four years, with 148 winners, 27 ahead of his nearest rival, Oisin Murphy.