Gender: male or female

You must be 16 years of age and have a high school diploma or GED. If you do not have a high school diploma or GED you must take the Compass test and reach minimum scores for entrance to the program. International students must meet a minimum TOFEL score.

Tuition 2005-2006
Residents, $98.00 per credit hour
Non Resident Contiguous Counties, $118.00 per credit hour
All Others, $294.00 per credit hour

Tuition 2006-2007
Residents, $109.00 per credit hour
Non Resident Contiguous Counties, $131.00 per credit hour
All Others, $327.00 per credit hour



Tuition and course charges will total approximately $3,330.00 to $3,600.00 (depending on your tuition rate) per 15 week semester. The entire jockey school program will require six semesters (including two semesters internship) completed over a 24 month period.

Tuition does not include housing, food or transportation.

...To be announced...

The students will be responsible for feeding, grooming and exercising at least two horses each day. They will spend approximately three hours each day completing their chores in the barn while learning about horse care, approximately one hour riding on the track, and approximately another hour working out on a mechanical horse. Additionally, approximately 3 hours per day will be spent in the classroom.

This is the tough part. As anyone with horse experience knows, the horses must be fed, trained and cared for every day. Therefore, the classes will be six days per week. On Sunday, work will be limited to feeding and caring for the horses but no training will take place. A few of the students will be selected each Sunday to share the burden of feeding and caring for the horses. These selections will alternate weekly so that the work is divided equally.

No horse or riding experience is required. Hall of Fame jockey and NARA founder Chris McCarron never touched or sat on a horse until he was 16, which is when he got his first job at the racetrack.

From start to finish, it will take a minimum of two years of training to graduate from the program and become a professional jockey. This includes 18 months of training at the NARA facility followed by a two-semester internship with a trainer located at a racetrack within the United States.

There are a limited number of dorms available at the University of Kentucky's campus.

No. NARA will provide all the horses necessary for instruction.

NARA horses will come from private donations and possibly organizations like the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

Retired Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron will be one of the instructors in the classrooms, in the barn and on the track. Margi Stickney will be teaching in the classrooms and in the barns. Margi has taught the Equine Management Program at the Kentucky Horse Park for more than 15 years. TBD

NARA will provide all the tack, including saddles and bridles. Students must bring their own boots and approved helmets and safety vests. Second year students will be required to provide their own racing saddle and girth.

Yes. NARA will provide job placement assistance by introducing each student to a licensed and qualified trainer who is already established in the racing industry.

Please visit the Bluegrass Community and Technical College web site for Financial aid and scholarship information.

I followed my older brother Gregg into the sport of horseracing because it looked like an exciting career to me. While I was in high school, I closely watched Gregg' s accomplishments and decided to give it a try.

For two years I worked for a very well-known trainer named Odie Clelland. Odie was famous for teaching youngsters how to ride Thoroughbreds. He taught my brother how to ride. When I was 16, Gregg got me a job as a hotwalker at a racetrack, and I learned very quickly that I wanted to pursue such a career. After I graduated from high school, I returned to the track and learned to groom, then exercise, then eventually ride in races.

I rode in over 34,000 races, in 22 different states, and seven different countries.

7,141

My mounts earned more than $260 million.

I accomplished a great deal as a jockey, felt satisfied with my achievements and wanted to pursue other interests in the sport of horseracing; most notably, teaching young people to become jockeys.

It' s a dead-heat between Kentucky Derby winner Alysheba and three-time Horse of the Year John Henry.

A triple dead-heat: Gary Jones, Ron McAnally, and Charlie Whittingham.

There are too many to list here. Besides, I' m too politically correct to say. For that matter, I' m surprised I answered the previous question.

I ride for pleasure occasionally but the last time I rode in a race was in November 2004. I competed in a retired jockeys all-star event in Melbourne, Australia.

No, I do not.

Over the 28 years that I rode, it probably averages out to once per year. More specifically, I have broken both legs, my right arm, right shoulder blade, right hand, several ribs, my back, and my right heel, and I have had lots of muscle strains and sprains.

As a result of a spill at Hollywood Park in June of 1990, I broke both legs and my right arm. However, I returned to riding races only 87 days later.

Jockeys are paid on a per mount (race) basis. The fees are between $30 per mount and $100 per mount depending on the purse structure at each particular track. Those are the fees jockeys receive if they do not finish first, second or third. The jockey of the winning horse receives an amount equal to 10% of the winning owner' s share of the total purse. (The winning owner in most states receives 60% of the total purse.) The second place jockey receives 5% of the owner' s share of the second place purse money. (The second place owner receives 20% of the total purse in most states.) The third place jockey receives 5% of the owner' s share of the third place purse money. (The third place owner receives 15% of the total purse in most states.) The most successful jockeys can earn over a million dollars a year. The least successful will make less the $20,000 per year. The record for purse earnings in one year by a jockey is $23,354,960.00* set by Jerry Bailey in 2003. *These are the earnings of the horses, not the jockey. As a rule of thumb, a jockey' s real earnings are approximately 7% of the horses' earnings.

Each jockey receives a check at the end of a one- or two-week pay period, depending on the track' s policy, from the Horsemen' s Bookkeeper, who is employed by the racing office at the track.

There are approximately 1500 licensed jockeys in the United States. However, the number of jockeys who ride regularly (at least a few times per week) is approximately 1200.

Yes, the vast majority of jockeys have an agent who solicits the jockey' s business with the trainers and owners of the horses. It is not required to be represented by an agent; however, most jockeys do have an agent.

Some jurisdictions allow an agent to represent up to three jockeys, while others allow two and some allow only one jockey per agent.

No. The one exception is when a jockey travels out of town to ride at different tracks for a day or two. The jockey may temporarily hire a local agent who is more familiar with the horses, trainers and owners who compete at that particular track.

Some agents are paid 20% of the jockey' s earnings and some are paid 25%.

The most sought after jockeys will ride as many as eight or nine races per day, five or six days per week. The record for number of mounts in a single year is more than 2,300.

A jockey's eating habits and diet greatly depends on his or her actual size and weight. A large percentage of jockeys who ride in the United States must be very disciplined and dedicated with regard to maintaining their weight and strength.

Riding Thoroughbreds every day is very strenuous exercise, and jockeys can become very fit and trim simply from riding. However, jockeys should engage in some strength, stamina and flexibility training to maximize their capabilities.

Depending upon the region in which a jockey is competing, jockeys can be very nomadic or they may settle in an area that has year-round racing such as southern Florida, southern California, Kentucky or New York. There are many jockeys who ride in New York in the summer and fall, then travel to south Florida to ride in the winter and spring. It greatly depends on the level of success each jockey achieves.