Which jockey rode most winners in one day?
Obviously, horse racing takes place in numerous jurisdictions worldwide and, as such, it can be difficult to keep track of which jockeys have ridden how many winners on a single day down the years. However, the world record for the most winners on a single day, on a single racecourse, is believed to be held by Panamanian-born jockey Eddie Castro. On June 4, 2005 at Calder, Florida, Castro rode nine winners on a 13-race card; in so doing, he equalled the feat achieved by Chris Cantley on October 31, 1987, but Cantley rode five winners at Aqueduct, New York in the afternoon and four at Meadowlands, New Jersey in the evening for his total of nine.
Elsewhere in the world, on September 6, 2013, Brazilian-born jockey Joao Moreira rode eight winners from as many rides on a nine-race card at Kranji, Singapore; he was ineligible for the remaining race on the card, an apprentices’ event. In Britain, Italian-born Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori hit the headlines when, on September 28, 1996, he rode all seven winners on the ‘Festival of British Racing’ card at Ascot. More recently, on October 15, 2012, Richard Hughes also rode seven winners, albeit from eight rides, at Windsor.
The first female jockey to win the Grand National was Rachael Blackmore who, on April 10, 2021, partnered Minella Times to an historic, 6½-length victory over 100/1 outsider, and stable companion, Balko Des Flos. Owned by John ‘J.P.’ McManus and trained by Henry De Bromhead, Minella Times was sent off 11/1 fourth-favourite for the celebrated steeplechase, so there was no fluke about his performance or that of his trailblazing jockey.