Photography by Shawn LaChapelle
When your chosen profession is to ride some of the world’s fastest Thoroughbred racehorses at extreme speeds in an unpredictable and cutthroat sport where success or failure is determined by split-second decisions, finding serenity and balance can be difficult to achieve.
Although he is a passionate and focused competitor driven to maximize his natural talents as a jockey, Dylan Davis has prioritized finding that balance—both on the racetrack and in his personal life—and the results speak volumes.
On the track, Davis, a 2011 Saratoga Springs High School graduate, has emerged as one of the most successful and consistent jockeys in North America. His even-keel mindset defines a veteran rider who is confident in his abilities and resolute in his preparation. At the same time, Davis approaches his vocation with a demeanor that makes it evident he enjoys his craft. Present in the moment and usually found smiling ear to ear, he is exactly where he wants to be in his career.
“I’m really blessed to get the opportunity to ride horses for a living and compete at the highest levels of the sport,” says the 30-year-old Davis, who’s closing in on 1,600 career wins. “None of this has come easy or been handed to me. I’ve had to work my way up from the bottom, which really makes me appreciate that process and what it has taken to get to where I’m at. I’m proud of what I’ve done so far, but I’m not satisfied. You have to stay hungry. There is no room for being complacent if you get some success. I can still improve in every way. This is a humbling sport, and nobody ever has it totally figured out. There is always more to learn.”
Through the recent Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, Davis ranks No. 10 among North American jockeys in 2025 purse earnings with $6,705,891. He has won 86 races so far, including five graded stakes (three Grade 1s). He has continued to build on the momentum he established during his career-best year in 2024, when he won 213 races with purse earnings of $16,456,954, ranking him No. 9 in both categories. He won 10 graded stakes last year, including his first Grade 1 at a New York Racing Association track aboard Carson’s Run in the Saratoga Derby.
Davis was particularly successful during this year’s Belmont Festival, winning eight races and placing in nine others from 30 mounts in the five days. His highlights included two Grade 1s on June 6—the Acorn aboard La Cara for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse and the Just a Game with Dynamic Pricing for five-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown—marking the first time in his 14-year career that he won two Grade 1s on the same card. His eight wins during the festival came for eight different trainers, demonstrating the appeal Davis has to many of the sport’s top conditioners. The eight wins also tied with reigning Eclipse Award–winning jockey Flavien Prat for second at the festival, trailing only Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who made nine trips to the winner’s circle.
The professional success Davis has achieved has been aided by a family that’s been entrenched in racing since his father, Robbie Davis, became a star jockey on the New York circuit in the 1980s. Robbie Davis rode 3,382 winners and is now a trainer in New York. Robbie’s passion for racing was handed down to Dylan, as well as his sisters, Jacqueline (Jacky) and Katie, who are also successful jockeys, and his brother, Eddie, an emerging trainer.
“It’s a great support system to have my dad, my sisters, and my brother all actively involved in racing,” Davis says. “We can all relate to what the others are experiencing. We’re competitive with each other, but first and foremost we’re family and we’re always rooting for each other to have success. Sometimes we’re working together, sometimes were trying to beat each other. It’s a fun dynamic.”
Although he had the family pedigree to become a jockey, that wasn’t initially the path Davis envisioned for himself. While growing up, he fell in love with speed in a different sport—motocross.
“I was about 9 when my dad got me my first motor bike, and I loved it,” Davis says. “The bikes got bigger as I got older. I had a Honda CR85 when I was 16 and that thing could cook at probably around 60 miles per hour. My friend Kevin Uebrick’s dad built a course with a bunch of jumps that we could practice on. It was a huge rush and so much fun. Crashes were part of the experience, of course, and I had a couple pretty big ones, but it made me tougher and gave me the mentality that just because you are down, you are not out. Get back up and get back at it. That mindset has stuck with me.”
Davis rode in numerous American Motocross events while in high school, but he needed to graduate to a bigger bike if he wanted to continue in the sport. And his father was against it.
“A bigger bike meant more speed, bigger jumps—the next size up would have been a 125cc class, and my dad said ‘no way,’ that it was too dangerous,” Davis says. “I know that’s pretty ironic considering the risks we take as jockeys, but realistically it wouldn’t have been a good fit for me. I was pretty mad about it for a while, but Dad started getting in my ear about getting on horses. I eventually got over it, went to the barn, and the rest is history.”
After some early riding lessons with his father, Davis attended the North American Racing Academy in Kentucky, where he learned from Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron, who won more than 7,000 races in his career.
“Jacky had gone there and learned a lot, so I had an idea of what was in store for me,” Davis says. “It was a hands-on experience in all aspects of horsemanship. There wasn’t a lot of glamour to it. You’re mucking stalls, grooming horses, taking a full schedule of classes, riding. I just tried to soak it all up. It was typically a two-year program, but Chris called my dad and said I was pretty advanced and that I needed to get into the real world of racing after only five or so months because there wasn’t much more I could get out of the school.”
Davis began his riding career at Saratoga in 2012, just a little more than a year after his high school graduation. It was tough going at first, as he finished his first summer at the Spa 0-for-16. He finally broke into the win column that September at Suffolk Downs in Boston aboard a horse named Soldier Sam in a $10,000 claiming race. That first year in the saddle was full of growing pains for Davis, who won only three times from 90 mounts.
“Lot of lessons learned early on…You have to pay your dues,” Davis says. “The trainers don’t know you yet and you have to earn their trust and build relationships. Just work hard, listen, trust the process, try to consistently improve.”
Although his success wasn’t immediate, Davis began to climb the ranks. He then connected with one of the key figures in his career, agent Michael Migliore.
“Mike’s been incredible to have in my corner,” Davis says. “We’ve been noses to the grindstone together since 2017—through winters at Aqueduct, injuries, ups and downs…everything you could imagine. He’s always been so sharp with great advice and has really given me confidence that I belong. There was a time I was struggling in New York and thinking about riding elsewhere, but he convinced me that sticking it out here would pay off. He was right, and we’ve come a long way together. He works just as hard as I do, which is why we have such a great relationship. Our communication is great, and we’re always looking to do better and keep building our business. He’s a big reason I’m where I’m at in my career.”
When he’s not racing, Davis prioritizes family time with his wife, Sara, and their children, 7-year-old Michael and 6-year-old Demi.
“I couldn’t do what I do for a living if Sara wasn’t in full support of it, because she’s really the one who brings everything together for our family,” Davis says. “She’s the backbone—balances everything for all of us. She does so much behind the scenes. We have a lot going on with the kids in school, Michael having a big interest in golf, Demi doing gymnastics, me being at the track so many hours. That’s our life…and we love it. Sara makes it all work so well.”
Next up for Davis is the annual summer meeting at Saratoga Race Course. He finished tied with Tyler Gaffalione for third in the Spa jockey standings in 2024 with 36 wins, behind only Irad Ortiz, Jr. (52) and Prat (45).
“Competing with the best riders forces you to raise your game, and that motivates me every day,” Davis says. “Saratoga is so prestigious. If you’re not motivated here, you’re in the wrong profession. I’d be at a loss for words if I ever won the riding title at Saratoga. I’d be hanging that trophy up real high. I just go back to great advice my dad gave me: He said it’s all about dedication, desire, and discipline. If you can give all three, you’ll be a champion.”
All in the Family
But wait: Dylan isn’t the only Davis sibling whose career has recently taken off. Meet Katie Davis, rising jockey and star of the new Netflix series Race for the Crown.
By nature of the profession, the life of a jockey is filled with ups and downs. For female riders, the trials and tribulations of the sport can be tenfold. Katie Davis, the middle of three jockey siblings in her family, which includes older sister Jacqueline and younger brother Dylan, has experienced many highs and many lows in her career—and she’s still, as always, smiling.
Davis, a Saratoga Springs native who is currently on pace for the best statistical year of her career with 27 wins and more than $1.6 million in earnings through mid-June, was recently featured in Netflix’s Race for the Crown, a six-part docuseries that followed horse owners, trainers, and jockeys during the 2024 Triple Crown racing season. Davis was featured alongside the likes of Mike Repole, Ken McPeek, Jayson Werth, Brian Hernandez, Jr., and Frankie Dettori.
“My family, we’re all jockeys, but I’m the best,” Davis says on the show, before cracking a smile. “No, that’s cocky.”
Davis’ segments on Race for the Crown focus on the unique challenges she’s faced as a female rider in a male-dominated profession, including her own agent telling her she may not be cut out for the sport and security officers questioning her entrance to the track because they didn’t believe she was a jockey. Davis also received feedback that trainers didn’t want to use her on their horses because she has a young child.
“Horse racing is a male-dominant sport, but I grew up competing against men, so it’s definitely not new to me,” she says. “There’s not many women that ride Saratoga, so when the fans see a woman, they’re all like, ‘Yeah, this is awesome!’”
How does Davis plan to follow up her Netflix debut? By riding at Saratoga Race Course this summer, of course.
