Mike Smith is an American jockey best known for winning dozens of horse races including several Triple Crown races. As of 2018, Mike Smith net worth is estimated to be $10 million according to Celebrity net worth while Mike’s horses which he has ridden over the course of his career has earned more than $312 million according to data provided by Equibase.
Mike was born on August 10, 1965 in New Mexico, United States to George Smith and Vidoll Vallejos. His parents got divorced when he was at very young age and spent most of his youth on his maternal grandparents where he got interest in horse at just 8 years old.
At the age of 11, he began riding horses and took license at the age 16. He went to Dexter High school but dropped out of the school to focus on his racing career. His paternal grandfather guided him to be professional and began riding a Midwestern circuit which included races at Hawthorne Race Course, Ak-Sar-Ben and Oaklawn Park Race Track at a very young age.
His professional career started in early 1990’s, after he won European classic by claiming win in the Irish 2,000 Guineas aboard Fourstars Allstar. The same year, he became leading jockey in New York for the first of three years from 1991 to 1993 with 330, 297 and 313 wins respectively. Since the early 1990’s, Smith has been one of the leading riders in Thoroughbred racing. He has won most Breeders’ Cup races and also the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.
Throughout his career, he has won Breeders’ Cup races of any jockey with 26 Breeders’ Cup wins, Preakness Stakes in 1993, the Kentucky Derby in 2005, the Belmont Stakes in 2010 and 2013 and Kentucky Oaks in 2013. In 2003, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He rode Justify to the Triple Crown, becoming the oldest jockey to win the title at the age of 52.
Regarding his personal life he was married to Patrice Lively, the daughter of horse jockey, John Lively. They were married for 14 years and never had children together. Their marriage ended in divorce and since then Smith has never married for second time.
