Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori has won the title of 2020 Longines World’s Best Jockey, meaning the legendary rider has received the award for three consecutive years. Dettori, who also took the competition in 2015, has been named the Longines World’s Best Jockey four of the last six years.
In 2020, Dettori won five of the world’s Top 100 Group or Grade 1 races, with his qualifying victories coming in the Gold Cup (Stradivarius), St James’s Palace Stakes (Palace Pier), King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes (Enable), Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes (Stradivarius), and Prix du Haras de Fresnay‐le‐Buffard ‐ Jacques Le Marois (Palace Pier).
The scoring process rewards jockeys for finishing in the top three, giving Dettori a total of 102 points on the year. He narrowly defeated Ryan Moore, the 2014 and 2016 Longines World’s Best Jockey, who finished 2020 with 98 points. William Buick was third with 66 points, while Irad Ortiz, Jr., was just behind him in fourth with 64 points.
The awarding of the Longines World’s Best Jockey title is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 and Grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The scoring incorporates races from 1 December of the previous year until 30 November of the current year. Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second, and 4 points for placing third.
Dettori is the only four-time winner of the Longines World’s Best Jockey award, which was established in 2014. Historically, a ceremony has been held to honour the winner during the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races in December, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person ceremony will not take place this year. Instead, Dettori will be honored in mid-January when the 2020 Longines World’s Best Racehorse and Longines World’s Best Horse Race winners are announced.
The full and final standings for the 2020 Longines World’s Best Jockey competition can be found at www.ifhaonline.org.
The Longines World’s Best Jockey Award was established seven years ago by Swiss watch brand Longines and the IFHA as a way to quantitatively recognize a jockey as the best among his or her global peers. It marked the first time a rider was honored in such a way.
