Mike Smith
b. August 10, 1965

The son of a jockey, Mike Smith began racing at age 11 in his native New Mexico and took out a jockey's license at age 16.

In 1991, he won the Irish 2000 Guineas, becoming one of the few American jockeys to win a European classic. Smith set a North American record for stakes wins in 1993 with 66 victories. He ranks third in Breeders' Cup victories with 10. And in 2005, he rode the longshot Giacomo to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

Smith has won two Eclipse Awards (1993, 1994) and received the George Woolf Award in 2000. He won the 1993 ESPY Award as outstanding jockey and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.