How Big Are Belmont Stakes Jockeys? (Height & Weight of 2023 Participants)

Jan 16, 2024

While the majority of sports favor bigger, stronger athletes, horse racing is the opposite. Riders tend to be smaller and lighter than average people, let alone professional athletes. That's because the horses must race with them on their backs, so jockeys with slender frames are easier to carry and can thus help a horse run faster.

In fact, there's actually a maximum weight for jockeys at the Belmont Stakes, as they must weigh a maximum of 126 pounds with their gear included.

Here's a full list of the Belmont Stakes 2023 jockeys, including their height and weight. (Note: not all jockeys have officially listed heights and weights, but those will be updated as they become available).

Post Number

Horse

Jockey

Jockey Height

Jockey Weight

1

Tapit Shoes

Jose Ortiz

5'7"

112 lbs

2

Tapit Trice

Luis Saez

5'2"

111 lbs

3

Arcangelo

Javier Castellano

5'1"

114 lbs

4

National Treasure

John Velazquez

5'6"

112 lbs

5

Il Miracolo

Marcos Meneses

-

-

6

Forte

Irad Ortiz Jr.

5'3"

112 lbs

7

Hit Show

Manny Franco

5'1"

112 lbs

8

Angel of Empire

Flavien Prat

5'6"

-

9

Red Route One

Joel Rosario

5'2"

109 lbs

The tallest jockey among those with official information listed for the 2023 Belmont Stakes is Jose Ortiz, who is 5 feet 7 inches and will be riding Tapit Trice.

The shortest jockey in the 2023 Belmont Stakes (among those with officially listed heights) is a tie between Javier Castellano and Manny Franco, both of whom are 5-foot-1. They will be riding Arcangelo and Hit Show, respectively.

The heaviest jockey in the 2023 Belmont Stakes is Javier Castellano, who is listed at 114 pounds and rides Arcangelo. That's only two pounds heavier than any other jockey with a listed weight, however.

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The jockey with the lowest officially listed weight for the 2023 Belmont Stakes is Joel Rosario, who weighs 109 pounds. He will be riding Red Route One.

Different races have different weight requirements for participating jockeys. At the 2023 Belmont Stakes, male horses will carry 126 pounds and fillies will carry 121 pounds. That means the total weight of the jockeys and their gear (which typically weighs about 7 pounds) must not exeed those limits. The average weight among 2023 Belmont Stakes jockeys (based on official weights) is roughly 112 pounds.

There are no height limits or restrictions for jockeys, but because of the very low weight limits most jockeys are on the shorter side, usually measuring between 4'10" and 5'7". The average jockey height in the 2023 Belmont Stakes is about 5-foot-3.

As with all sports, there is a big range between the highest and lowest earners when it comes to jockeys. Jockeys are independent contractors who ride many different horses and take part in lots of races, so the more they race the more they make.

Jockeys earn a base "mounting fee" for each race they partake in as well as a percentage of the prize money if they finish in the top 3. Accordingly, jockeys who do a high volume of races and win a lot are very well compensated.

Below is a list of the top 10 jockeys in 2023 earnings through June 7.

Jockey

Earnings

Starts

Wins

Places

Shows

Irad Ortiz, Jr.

$15,414,382

717

188

124

113

Luis Saez

$11,164,721

660

132

97

84

Flavien Prat

$10,478,901

337

70

54

63

Tyler Gaffalione

$9,717,984

609

110

88

85

Javier Castellano

$7,391,142

435

66

71

62

Jose Ortiz

$7,390,245

652

114

113

107

Joel Rosario

$6,905,896

376

46

57

45

Manuel Franco

$6,890,605

498

118

85

69

Cristian Torres

$6,182,107

482

95

86

54

Juan Hernandez

$6,124,211

354

88

60

65

The winning jockey receives 10% of the winning payout for the 2023 Belmont Stakes, which will be $80,000 (10% of $800,000 for the winning team) this year.

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