In horse racing, female jockeys compete on equal terms with male jockeys. Indeed, some of the best jockeys in the sport are women, and they have won many of the most famous and prestigious races in the world.
Here is a look at some of the best female Flat and Jump jockeys in the sport today and what they have already achieved in the saddle.
Best Female Flat Jockeys
Hollie Doyle
UK-based jockey Hollie Doyle became the first female rider to win a Grade One Classic in Europe when she landed the French Oaks (Prix de Diane) at Chantilly in 2020. She is very familiar with major success as she has also ridden winners at Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, and British Champions Day.
In 2019, Doyle came third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for her achievements in horse racing. She was named The Times sportswoman of the year in 2022 in what proved to be an excellent season as she finished second in the Flat Jockeys Championship, the highest position any female rider has ended a campaign at.
Doyle played her part in helping the Ladies’ team win the Shergar Cup in 2023. She won the Silver Saddle award for the most points at the meeting at Ascot. In what has been another stellar year for her, she had triumphs in the Falmouth Stakes and Prix du Cadran on board Nashwa and Trueshan respectively.
In 2024, Doyle continued her success. She started the year with victory in the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury, followed by a Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes win at Newmarket in May.
She then rode Trueshan to victory in the Coral Marathon at Sandown in July. The following month, she rode the one hundredth British winner of her career.
Keep up with Doyle’s achievements in 2025 and bet on her to win via talkSPORT BET’s horse racing odds.
Hayley Turner
With over 1,000 career winners, statistically, Hayley Turner is the most successful female jockey in history in the UK. In 2008, she rode 100 winners in a calendar year, becoming the first female rider to reach that milestone.
Turner, who remains in the saddle, rode two Group One winners in 2011, with success on board Dream Ahead and Margot Did in the July Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes, respectively. She brought up her 1,000th winner with Tradesman at Chelmsford City.
Though Turner announced her retirement in 2015, she came out of retirement in 2018 and has gone onto ride four winners at Royal Ascot since. 2023 marked Turner’s record sixteenth appearance in the Shergar Cup and in 2024, she won the silver saddle, captaining the Ladies’ team to victory in her 17th appearance.
Saffie Osborne
Saffie Osborne showcased her talent in Flat racing when she helped the Ladies’ team win the 2023 Shergar Cup event. A year earlier, Osbourne was the leading jockey at the 2022 Racing League, while she ended the season in style, winning the November Handicap at Doncaster.
Osborne turned professional in 2023 and in her debut year without her claim, she won the Group Two Valiant Stakes at Ascot and the Chester Cup at Chester’s May Meeting. The former Apprentice Championship runner-up has worked at Aidan O’Brien’s yard in Ireland and she rides for several trainers in the UK.
Osborne suffered an injury that ruled her out of the first month of 2024, though she returned in February 2024, becoming the first female jockey to win a race at Meydan when she rode Ouzo to victory.
She continued her success in the Middle East by winning the Dukhan Sprint in Doha the following day. Later in the year, she secured an eighth-placed finish on Ten Bob Tony in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Joanna Mason
Joanna Mason continues to go from strength to strength in the saddle. She rode 46 winners in 2022, most of which came in the north, where she is very familiar with the local courses.
In her career to date, Mason has 195 wins from 1,917 rides, earning just short of £2,000,000. She has started 2025 with three wins – one at Southwell, and two at Wolverhampton, the most recent coming on Buraback.
Best Female Jump Jockeys
Rachel Blackmore
Irish Jumps rider Rachael Blackmore MBE made history in 2021, becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National. She rode Minella Times to victory in the world’s most famous steeplechase at Aintree in Liverpool.
The Tipperary-born jockey showed how talented she is at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, finishing the week as the leading rider at the meeting with six winners, including her success on Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle, the feature race on day one.
Blackmore has been rewarded for her achievements in the saddle at many award ceremonies. In 2021, she was the RTE Sports Person of the Year and named the 2021 BBC Sports Person of the Year.
In 2024, Blackmore won the Queen Mother Champion Chase, riding Captain Guinness to victory for Henry de Bromhead. It’s the leading minimum-distance chase on the National Hunt calendar and one of the Cheltenham Festival’s most prestigious races.
Bryony Frost
Bryony Frost is one of the leading British jockeys in Jumps racing. She became the first female rider to have a winner at the Cheltenham Festival in 2019. Over the last few years, she has consistently been at the top end of the Jumps Jockey Championship standings in the UK.
Frost has built a fantastic relationship with 3m chaser Frodon. She won the King George VI Chase at Kempton in 2021 on board the Paul Nicholls-trained horse. Since then, the pair have won the Oaksey Chase at Ascot, Champion Chase at Down Royal, and Wincanton’s Badger Beer Handicap Chase.
In 2024, Frost was appointed as a retained jockey in France, riding for owners Isaac Souede and Simon Munir.
Lilly Pinchin
Lilly Pinchin has already ridden three winners at the Cheltenham Festival, so she has shown she is not fazed by the big occasion. She has been tipped by former jockeys, including Ruby Walsh, to be a future star of the sport.
Pinchin has 77 wins from 810 rides in the UK, with over £820,000 in earnings since the start of her career. She rides predominately for Charlie Longsdon but also picks up plenty of spare riders for various other trainers at big meetings.
Conclusion
After proving themselves in what has often been seen as a male-orientated sport, the likes of Hollie Doyle, Hayley Turney, and Rachael Blackmore are likely to inspire the next generation of female jockeys. The number of female riders involved in horse racing continues to rise, and that is very healthy for the sport.
