Billy Loughnane wins annual Flat Jockey Championship

British horseracing’s highflier Billy Loughnane has secured the 2025 Annual Flat Jockey Champion title. Earlier this month, the rising star surpassed 200 winners this year, making 2025 his most impressive year to date.  

The coveted Annual Flat Jockey Championship is based on the total number of wins across a calendar year from January 1 - December 31, 2025, whereas the British Flat Jockeys’ Championship is based on the total number of wins between the period of May 3 - October 18, 2025. 

Before racing on Friday, December 19, Loughnane clinched the title with an impressive 207 wins and a strike rate of 16%. His closest competitors were Oisin Murphy, with 182 wins, and Rossa Ryan, with 179 wins.

Loughnane’s tally of 207 wins comes from 1267 rides, beating his previous record in 2024 of 162 wins by over 27% and his 2023 achievement of 130 wins by over 57%.  

Murphy has proved Loughnane’s toughest pursuer in the Annual Flat Jockey Championship, having been crowned Champion Jockey, for the fifth time in his career, at QIPCO British Champion’s Day at Ascot Racecourse in October, where Loughnane followed in second place.  

Loughnane burst onto the scene at the end of 2022 and made his mark on the sport in January 2023 when he rode and impressive 23 winners that month, aged just 16 having recently taken out his license 12 weeks before. In 2023, Loughnane was named Champion Apprentice, following in the footsteps of racing legends such as Ryan Moore, Frankie Dettori, Oisin Murphy, William Buick and Tom Marquand.  

Fast forward to December 2025 and the 19-year-old's win on Dandy Khan at Lingfield on Monday, December 8 saw him celebrate 200 annual wins for the first time in his career. He is the only Flat jockey this year to ride 200 winners. This extended his lead in Annual Championships, enabling him to eclipse Murphy.  

What’s more, not only has Irish-born Loughnane made 2025 his most rewarding year, he is also one of the fastest jockeys in history to hit 500 British wins in just three seasons. Compared to the likes of Oisin Murphy, Frankie Dettori and Tom Marquand who all took six seasons and Ryan Moore, Jamie Spencer and Kieren Fallon who reached it in seven, eight and nine seasons, respectively.  

On winning the Annual Flat Jockey title for 2025 Loughnane said:   

"Reaching 200 winners in Britian in 2025 and 500 winners overall is something I’m incredibly proud of. I’ve been lucky to ride plenty of good horses, but none of this happens without the trainers who put their trust in you.

"I owe a huge amount to so many trainers, in particular George Boughey, who has supported me from early on, and Charlie Appleby and the entire Godolphin team for the opportunities and belief they’ve shown. I’m also hugely grateful to all the owners who have put me up on their horses and trusted me on big days.""I’m still learning all the time and I feel like I’m improving with every season. The next big aim is to keep pushing on and give myself a proper chance of challenging for the Jockeys’ Championship in 2026."