NZ Jockey James McDonald. Photo: DAN HIMBRECHTS
New Zealand jockey James McDonald has won the Longines World's Best Jockey title for the second consecutive year and third time overall.
The 33-year-old, who is based in Australia, also won the Longines World's Best Jockey Award in 2022.
On his way to claiming the 2025 title, McDonald won 12 of the world's Top 100 Group or Grade 1 races.
His qualifying victories included the Longines Hong Kong Cup, Longines Hong Kong Mile, Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ladbrokes Doomben 10,000, and the Ladbrokes Cox Plate.
McDonald dominated this year's award, holding a sizeable lead throughout much of the competition.
The scoring process rewards jockeys for finishing in the top three, giving McDonald a total of 184 points on the year. Mickael Barzalona was second with 132 points, while William Buick was third with 114 points.
The awarding of the 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.
The award was established in 2014 as a way for the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) to quantitatively recognise a jockey as the best among his or her global peers.
Italian jockey Frankie Dettori and Englishman Ryan Moore have won the award four times each.
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