Mike Smith is one of the most heralded jockeys in the 2026 Kentucky Derby field, which will have 20 horses go to post on Saturday, May 2 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
He will be aboard So Happy in Saturday’s Kentucky.
Smith, 59, owns two Kentucky Derby wins in 28 previous starts. including a 2018 win aboard Justify, who eventually won the Triple Crown that year. He has also won 27 Breeders’ Cup races in his career, which began in New Mexico at the Downs of Santa Fe on May 7, 1982.
The Kentucky Derby is scheduled to start at 4:57 p.m. MT/5:57 p.m. CT.
Mike Smith’s experience could be why So Happy’s odds are moving down
Bettors like experienced jockeys in the Kentucky Derby and Smith has plenty of that. He’s ridden in 28 previous Kentucky Derbies, the first being in 1984.
So Happy started at 15-1 in the morning line, but bettors are banking on Smith’s experience to help him win his third Kentucky Derby. The current odds for So Happy are 6-1, which shows bettors like both horse and jockey.
So Happy won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4 with Smith aboard.
What are Mike Smith’s strengths as a jockey
Smith’s experience riding all the major tracks from California to New York is a major plus. Nothing fazes Smith, who has won at the highest level of the sport.
Smith knows the horses he rides well, and his sense of when to make the right moves on the track gives him a chance to win major races.
Smith with a chance at history
With a win, he would replace then-54-year-old Bill Shoemaker, who rode Ferdinand to victory in 1986, as the oldest jockey to win the Derby.
Smith finished sixth on Pine Circle in the 1984 Kentucky Derby, starting a run that’s made him one of the most renowned jockeys in the world’s most famous horse race.
What is trainer Mark Glatt saying about Mike Smith
“With 20 horses, his experience is definitely a positive,” Glatt said. “We can’t put a number on experience. He’s ridden the horse perfect. He knows the horse inside and out. Very glad and pleased to have him on the horse.”
What does Mike Smith say about So Happy
Smith said So Happy is “not a flashy work horse” but shows up when it matters most. He’s won three times in four career races.
“The only time he ever worked good, he got beat,” Smith said. “Racing really does him a lot of good. Now we’re hoping the Santa Anita Derby will move him up. If that happens, he has a really good chance to run really well.”
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Experience could give jockey Mike Smith edge in 2026 Kentucky Derby
Reporting by Felix F. Chavez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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