Having looked at the great jockeys in this column on September 25, 2026 going back to 1938, for those who may not be aware, it was determined that, in chronological order, Reggie McKenzie, Arthur Jones, Trevor McKenzie, Winston Ellis, and George Hosang met the criteria for all-time great reinsmen comfortably in all respects.

Extraordinarily, an era of outstanding masters of the pigskin emerged, with Charles Hussey winning his first of three titles in 1976, followed by Winston Griffiths in 78, 79, 80, and 81. Emilio Rodriguez in 1982 put the brakes on the Griffiths series; shared the next four with Hubert Bartley; and by the end of the 80s, with Joe Buchanan, Trevor Simpson, and Andrew Ramgeet, unquestionably, the golden generation emerged.

Almost unbelievably, the final decade of the 20th century was most interesting, as this is what unfolded. Hubert Bartley added the 1991 title to those of 83 and 86, with Ramgeet following up the 1990 success with titles in 96 and 99. Trevor Simpson, eventual five-time champion, added 1992 to his first in 89, whilst Joe Buchanan’s 88 feat was repeated in 93.

Percival Williams was champion in 94, Griffiths was back for his fifth in 95, with Wesley Henry taking the 97 title. Remarkably, Charles Hussey’s third was secured in 98, 22 years after his 1976 triumph and, incredibly, Shane Ellis, son of the acclaimed Winston Ellis and clearly a special talent, closed the final decade of the 20th century claiming the 2000 accolade for the first of two.

In 2001, Hussey took his fourth and final title. Simpson’s 2002, 2003 and 2004 exploits is the stuff of which legends are based, with a record 571 mounts yielding a season record of 172 winners, the likes of which may never be replicated was achieved in 2002. The rest of the opening decade of the 21st century saw Trinidadian Brian Harding taking the 2005 and 2006 versions. Omar Walker closed out this decade with championships in 2007 to 2010.

Following Jose Bravo’s joint success with Richard Depass in 1970 and Harding’s 2005 and 2006 triumphs in securing the 2011 crown, Panamanian Dick Cardenas became the second native of his country and the third non-Jamaican citizen to have achieved this distinction to get the second 21st-century decade underway.

Dane Nelson, a man who dubbed himself The Warrior Chief and one of the most colourful and articulate reinsmen in history, rode 124 winners from 487 mounts to win his first title in 2012, then cemented himself as the best of the colony’s cohort, adding the 2013 and 2014 titles for good measure.

In 2015, 16 years later, Shane Ellis added a second to his 2000 success, and the indomitable Omar Walker won his fifth and sixth titles in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Anthony Thomas secured the first of his three in 2018, whilst the tactically clever and athletic Christopher Mamdeen got into history in 2019.

Although electing to move his tack to Canada and holidaying in Jamaica during the North American winters from 2015, Nelson was back full time in Jamaica in 2020 and shared the title with Anthony Thomas, who won again in 2021 and has since moved on to riding winners in Florida. Both riders had tallied 84 winners each to close the second decade.

We are now almost six years into the second decade of the 21st century and witnessing the emergence of Dane Dawkins, 2022 champion, Reyan Lewis 2023, and Raddesh Roman 2024 and 2025. Then there is current leader Tevin Foster, whose 132-win tally was only one less than that of Roman in 2024. Time will tell if these promising reinsmen join the legends of the past.

However, horseracing this side of the Atlantic faces an existential threat due to underinvestment in the breeding industry. In the USA and Canada, the forecast is that the breeding sheds will deliver 1000 and 100 fewer foals in these jurisdictions, respectively, in 2026. As things stand, regarding the local scenario, I have no figures as of yet to reach any credible conclusion.

Contact:wesmartin@horseracing. com